French national debt is at critical level

By Alimat Aliyeva

Minister of Economy and Finance Antoine Armand did not rule out that servicing France's unprecedented public debt would become the largest expenditure item in the republic's budget, Azernews reports.

"There is a critical situation in public finances related to servicing the public debt," Arman admitted during the broadcast in X. "This could become the largest expenditure item in the budget."

Presenting the draft budget for 2025, Arman noted that the expenditure part of the 2025 budget will be reduced by €40 billion, and the revenue part will be increased by €20 billion. In order to increase revenues, the French authorities intend, in particular, to increase taxation of the 400 largest companies.

In turn, Budget Minister Laurent Saint Martin noted that the authorities plan to gradually abolish social protection measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. This, in particular, concerns the "tariff shield", which blocked the increase in electricity tariffs for the least well-off part of the French.

According to the government's plans, the total budget revenues next year may amount to €536 billion, and expenditures - €684 billion. Thus, the deficit may amount to €148 billion.

By the end of September, France's national debt had reached an unprecedented level of more than €3.2 trillion.