Debt is not the prerogative of recent governments. Since the Middle Ages through the Revolution, the French State has had to manage this slate and its consequences on the country. With Jean-Marc Daniel, specialist in the history of economic thought, we retrace the epic story of the French debt. And in this last episode, we dive into the devaluation of the franc, in the middle of the interwar period.
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The team: Charlotte Baris (presentation and writing), Jules Krot (editing and direction)
Credits: Boursorama, France Info, INA, Public Senate, Studio Canal, Warner Bros Pictures
Music and dressing: Emmanuel Herschon/Studio Torrent
Logo: Jérémy Cambour
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Charlotte Baris: 1992 is a year that should remind you of something when we talk about debt. It is the year of the Treaty of Maastricht, founding for the European Union. It is notably a question of economics, and above all of criteria that all members of the community must respect, to reduce inflation, interest rates or currency fluctuations. It also includes figures that still weigh on EU countries today: the public deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP and the public debt must be less than 60%.
Despite its signature, certain countries rejected the Maastricht Treaty during 1992. This is particularly the case for Denmark, while in France, as we know, the “yes” narrowly won. Enough to shake the financial markets, which doubt the capabilities of the European monetary system. Faced with this crisis, certain currencies must be devalued. This is the case for the English pound sterling, the Italian lira and the Spanish peseta: a period of recession still very present in European minds.
And devaluation has regularly been used in our history to deal with an economic crisis. This was the case in 1926, in the middle of the interwar period.
To go further
Budget 2025: has the time for a start (finally) arrived?
Deficit, debt… The little death of the Maastricht Treaty
Budget: what is the State doing with the capital of Française des jeux? By Nicolas Bouzou