French public debt to reach 121.7% of GDP in 2027 under new 54-billion-euro budget plan

Rising debt and deficit targets

France's public debt is projected to reach 119.3% of gross domestic product in 2026 before rising to 121.7% in 2027, according to figures released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on 19 September 2026. Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) shows that these debt ratios are the highest recorded in France since 1995. The finance ministry told reporters that this increase is mechanical, resulting directly from a persistently elevated public deficit. France registered a budget deficit of 5.1% of GDP in 2025 and forecasts a deficit of 5.4% in 2026. The government plans to reduce the deficit to 5.0% in 2027, maintaining a target of 3.0% by 2029, which the ministry identified as the threshold required to stabilize the national debt ratio. Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure described the 2027 deficit target as ambitious but achievable.

20255.1%

20265.4%

20275%

20293%

2025

5.1 %

2026

5.4 %

2027

5 %

2029

3 %

Data from the article text

Spending limits and tax adjustments

The 2027 budget framework features a 54-billion-euro consolidation effort designed to restrain state spending and satisfy European fiscal rules. The Budget Ministry stated that the plan incorporates a 0.7% limit on the growth of net primary expenditure, aligning with recommendations set by the European Union. Economic growth is projected at 1.0% for the year, while compulsory tax levies will increase by 0.3 percentage points, moving the national rate from 43.9% to 44.2% of GDP. This adjustment is designed to raise 9 billion euros by curtailing tax loopholes. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu presented the initial outline on 17 September 2026 and detailed the package in an interview with Le Figaro. Key provisions include freezing the public sector base salary index point, while contentious decisions regarding pensions have been deferred to the National Assembly and Senate.

Trade union response and strike plans

Trade union leadership responded to the budgetary announcements with warnings of widespread labor mobilization. During an interview on France Inter on 19 September 2026, CGT General Secretary Sophie Binet urged the government to heed social discontent, noting that workers face rising fuel and food costs amid Middle East geopolitical tensions. Binet criticized the spending restrictions, pointing out that public emergency services suffered during summer heatwaves and fires, and cited the past elimination of 45,000 hospital beds. She asserted that the priority should be raising tax revenues rather than reducing public expenditure.

“France is the sick man of Europe, on the verge of recession. This is the result of the supply-side policy implemented for ten years by Emmanuel Macron.”

In response to the government's proposals, the CGT union confederation called for a nationwide strike across the public sector on 29 September 2026.

Legislative roadmap and independent review

The procedural review of the 2027 budget began overnight on 19 September 2026 when the government submitted its macroeconomic texts to the High Council of Public Finances (HCFP). Attached to the Court of Accounts, the independent advisory council is legally mandated to deliver a formal opinion assessing the credibility and sincerity of the state's economic projections. Following this advisory review, the draft state budget and social security bills will be presented to the Council of Ministers on 1 October 2026. The legislation will then proceed to parliament for debate throughout October 2026. Lawmakers will deliberate the proposed spending cuts during an intense political period leading into the upcoming presidential election campaign.