DEBT CLOCK FRANCE
Follow the real-time evolution of France’s public debt and other key figures of national accounting data: government budget deficit, social spending, public services, foreign trade, state burden and bureaucratic complexity, etc.
Public Debt
France national debt
All borrowings by general government
(state, central government agencies, local authorities and social security agencies)
Public debt increases by €6,000 per second (€518 millions dayly). It would take €35 billion in budget surplus every year for a century to pay off the debt.
DEBT INTEREST PAYMENTS
State expenditure on interest payments on the public debt in 2026
58 billion in 2024. Interest on the debt is greater than the Defense budget (excluding pensions) and represents the second-largest State budget. Estimated amount at end 2025: €67 billion and €69.6 billion in 2027.
Public debt/GDP
Public debt-to-GDP ratio in real time
98.2% in 2019. France is the third-most indebted country in the EU, behind Greece (149.7%) and Italy (137.8%). EU average: 81.1%; eurozone average: 88.5%; Germany: 63.5%. France has seen continuous growth in its debt since 2010, when the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 86.3% —an increase of 30 percentage points over 15 years — while the eurozone average has remained virtually stable.
Public debt/capita
Public debt per inhabitant
Per capita debt increases by €7;53 every day, or €2,750 per year.
State Budget
State Budget Deficit
Projected balance of government expenditure and revenue in 2026
Expected deficit in 2025 of €139 billion (net revenues of €311 billion and net expenditure of €450 billion), following deficits of €168.6 billion in 2024 and €151.7 billion in 2023.
PUBLIC DEFICIT
Net Government Expenditures and Revenues in 2025
0
.5
billion €
This represents a decrease of only 16.1 billion euros compared to 2024, primarily due to a massive fiscal shock (a 51 billion euro increase in compulsory levies).
PUBLIC DEFICIT/GDP
Government Deficit as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product in 2025
0
.1%
Compared with 5.8% in 2024. EU average: 3.1%. Eurozone average: 2.9%. Germany: 2.7%. Italy: 3.4%; Spain: 2.2%; Greece: surplus of 1.7%; Portugal: surplus of 0.7%.
Public spending
PUBLIC SPENDING
Expenditure by the State, social security agencies, local authorities and related agencies and bodies
Public spending rose in 2025 to €1,695 billion. (+43 bn € in volume and +70 bn in value compared to 2024). This compares with €1,607.4 billion in 2023.
Social security deficit
Balance of all compulsory basic schemes and FSV in 2026
Projected deficit of €23 billion in 2025 and €24.1 billion in 2028 (after deficits of €15.3 billion in 2024 and €11.1 billion in 2023).
Social security debt
Amount of debt owed by social security agencies (ASSO) held by the Social Debt Redemption Fund (CADES), the URSSAF National Fund (formerly Acoss), Unédic, and the National Pension Fund for Local Government Employees (CNRACL)
CADES can no longer take on Social Security debt and is paying down its debt portfolio, which is decreasing each year (137.5 billion in 2025). ACOSS now holds this debt through short-term bond issuances. From 19.1 billion in 2024, this debt is expected to rise to 42 billion in 2025, 65 billion in 2026, and 113 billion in 2028.
Public Services
EDF debt
Net financial debt of the state-owned national electric utility company Électricité de France (EDF)
0
.5
billion €
compared with 54.4 billion in 2024.
Public hospital debt
Total debt of public hospitals (2023)
0
.1
billion €
after 2.4 billion euros in 2023 and 1.3 billion in 2002. Around 75% of public hospitals are in deficit.
SNCF debt
Net debt of the state-owned national railway company SNCF Réseau
0
.3
billion €
compared with 24.8 billion in 2024 and 24.2 billion in 2023. This figure reflects the government’s assumption of 35 billion euros in SNCF Réseau debt over the 2020–2022 period.
PUBLIC PAYMENTS TO SNCF
All public funding (purchases and subsidies) paid to SNCF by the State and regions in 2024
0
.8
billion €
after €20 billion in 2022 and €18.5 billion in 2021.
Foreign trade
Trade deficit
France’s projected trade balance (exports/imports of goods) in 2026
Deficits of €81 billion in 2024, €90.9 billion in 2023 and €162.6 billion in 2022.
Foreign trade deficit
France’s trade balance (exports/imports of goods and services) in 2024
0
.6
billion €
Current account deficit
France’s trade balance in goods, services and income (including FDI) in 2024
0
.9
billion €
State burden
Applicable standards
Number of standards in force
0
Normative volume
Number of words in all current standards
0
+93.8% since 2002
COST TO BUSINESS
Estimated annual cost of normative excess
0
billion €
in 2022
BUREAUCRATIC BURDEN
France’s ranking in the World Economic Forum World Outlook (2021)
0
nd