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Debt of France: in the middle of the campaign, the Court of Auditors is sounding the alarm

2022-02-16T07:49:36.701Z


The executive's public accounts recovery trajectory will involve some 9 billion euros in additional savings per year, estimate the Wise Men.


This is a new reminder from the Court of Auditors which comes at the right time, at a time when the candidates for the presidential election are constantly multiplying their promises of spending, without however seriously tackling the over-indebtedness of the country.

The next president will not be able to turn a blind eye to the particularly worrying state of the country's public finances, exacerbated by two years of pandemic during which tens of billions of euros have been poured out in the name of "

whatever it costs

” to avoid the collapse of part of the economy.

Read alsoPublic finances come out wrung out of Emmanuel Macron's five-year term

In their annual public report published on Wednesday, the magistrates of rue Cambon insist: control of public spending is "

essential

" beyond 2022 to deal with a public debt close to 120% of GDP and a level of deficit structural - which does not take into account the economic impact such as the crisis - very high.

France, a bad student in the euro zone

Moreover, the current government may congratulate itself on the exceptional rebound in French growth in 2021, France is part of the club of bad students in the euro zone in terms of public finances, alongside Italy, Belgium and Spain.

Or, far from Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, whose debt levels are more "

moderate

" and "

the levels of structural deficits much lower

".

And the “

whatever the cost

” deployed during the pandemic is far from explaining this stall in France.

All governments have indeed opened the checkbook.

In reality, "

for France, this situation is the culmination of a movement of divergence started fifteen years ago and which saw it in particular deviate from Germany"

, recalls the Court of Auditors headed by Pierre Moscovici , Minister of the Economy under François Hollande.

Thus, while the level of debt of the two countries was similar in 2006, before the outbreak of the financial crisis, the French debt was in 2020 nearly 45 points above the level of that of Germany (respectively 115% and 69% of GDP).

»

Read alsoDid “whatever it costs” prevent an explosion of debt?

Nine billion more savings per year

Clearly, France is paying the price for its immobility in the field of economies.

The last two State budgets for 2021 and 2022 are, moreover, a new illustration of this: despite the record level of debt, public expenditure outside the State crisis has continued to increase "

strongly

" by some 11 billion euros in 2021 and should increase by 8 billion in 2022, recognizes the Court of Auditors.

Not to mention the adoption of measures to upgrade health personnel within the framework of the "

Ségur de la santé

" which amount to some 10 billion euros annually...

Read alsoPresidential: the governor of the Banque de France worried about public finances

Admittedly, the executive has presented a trajectory for the recovery of the accounts to bring the deficit below the 3% mark in 2027, which would make it possible to initiate a slight ebb of the debt by this horizon if all the criteria are met.

But this trajectory is “

out of step with its main European partners

”: in 2025, the French public debt should remain higher than that of Germany by nearly 50 points of GDP.

And, by 2027, the structural deficit, which makes it possible more broadly to judge the health of an economy, would still remain “

very high

”.

The fact remains that this exercise of cleaning up the accounts by 2027 presupposes "

greater control of expenditure than in the past

", wishes to underline the Court of Auditors.

France should indeed achieve nearly 9 billion euros in additional savings each year compared to the pre-crisis period (2010-2019).

A challenge in a country very reluctant to save...

In the field of "

necessary

" reforms, the institution recalls that measures should be taken in five key sectors: the pension system, health insurance, employment policy, social minima and housing policy. .

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2022-02-16

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