France: President of the Court of Auditors fears the country may be crushed under the weight of its debt
It is set to reach 90 billion euros as early as 2027
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - France risks being crushed under the weight of its debt if it fails to keep its public finances under control. This is the warning issued by the President of the Court of Auditors, Amélie de Montchalin, in an interview with *La Tribune Dimanche*.
“If we do not keep the debt trend under control,” he says, “we run the risk of financial collapse. The debt burden will already reach 90 billion euros next year. A ‘100-basis-point rise in interest rates (i.e. one percentage point)’, he continues, ‘would entail an additional annual cost of 40 billion euros over a seven-year period. That is three times the annual budget of the Ministry of Justice.” And to avoid losing “our room for manoeuvre and our sovereignty”, it is “essential” to bring the public deficit below the 5 per cent threshold by 2027.
France’s draft budget for 2027, which has been under discussion in the National Assembly since Tuesday, aims to bring the public deficit back down to 5 per cent of GDP, following a figure of 5.4 per cent in 2026.
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