France sees public debt nearing 120% of GDP in 2026

France’s finance ministry expects public debt to equal 119.3% of GDP in 2026, its highest level since 1995. Put simply, the state’s accumulated borrowing would be larger than the country’s annual economic output, up from 115.7% in 2025. The driver is a large budget deficit: the government is spending substantially more than it collects, so it must add new borrowing to an already heavy debt load. The forecast underscores the basic fiscal challenge—France must narrow that annual gap if debt is to stop rising relative to the economy.