France’s public deficit reached 5.8 % of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, a little better than the 6 % anticipated by the government, while public debt exceeded 3,300 billion at the end of the year, according to INSEE.
The Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, had recently indicated that the deficit, expected around 6 % of the GDP, could come out “a little bit better than expected” in 2024. Its level remains very far from 4.4 % still hoped for in the fall of 2023 due to less dynamic than anticipated revenues.
After 5.4 % in 2023, a level revised slightly, the public deficit of 2024 is explained by an acceleration of 3.9 % of public spending last year. These amounted to 57.1 % of GDP, compared to 56.9 % in 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies said on Thursday March 27 in a statement. At the same time, revenue increased by 3.1 %, but less quickly than GDP, “after 2023 penalized by a slowdown in the economy,” said INSEE.
The debt increased by 202.7 billion in 2024
The government plans to bring the deficit back to 5.4 % of GDP in 2025, before returning under the European limit of 3 % in 2029. In order to prevent a possible new slip, it will bring together for the first time in April an alert committee associating in particular parliamentarians and local authorities. But its room for maneuver are limited in a fragmented political landscape and an economic environment under increased tension.
French debt increased by 202.7 billion euros over the whole of 2024, and from 3.8 billion in the fourth quarter, reaching 113 % of GDP, or 3,305.3 billion euros. Within the monetary union, only Greece and Italy have a higher public debt than France, while the country displays the worst performance in terms of public deficit.
At the end of the third quarter, the debt was 113.6 % (or 3,301.4 billion), according to figures revised slightly down by INSEE, and 109.8 % (or 3,102.5 billion) at the end of 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the state contribution to public debt decreased by 3.7 billion euros, that of social security administrations. On the other hand, the debt of various central administration organizations increased by 1.1 billion and that of local public administrations by 11.9 billion.