The eco news of the week is the severe warning of the Court of Auditors on the public debt of our country, a subject so far not very present in the electoral campaign. And yet, the Court of Auditors is sounding the alarm.
franceinfo: Raphaël Ebenstein, what exactly does this report from the Court of Auditors say?
Raphael Ebenstein: Unsurprisingly, because that is its role, the Court of Auditors warns of the slippage in public finances since the start of the health crisis, and is particularly concerned about the level of debt. It should reach 113% of GDP this year, barely less than in 2021, and while it was still below the symbolic bar of 100% in 2019.
In absolute value, France’s debt will represent at the end of the year, 2970 billion euros, which means a widening of 560 billion since the start of the health crisis!
And this is not simply linked – far from it – to the sole bill of the “whatever the cost” policy: massive aid to businesses and households, a policy led by the government, because it represents less one-third of this new debt according to official figures.
Does this mean that the State spends too much, in general, without having sufficient revenue in the face?
This is indeed the conclusion of the Court of Auditors, in the form of a hollow warning addressed to the government. She is alarmed by a continuous increase in expenditure, whether to increase the salaries of teachers or caregivers, as well as a future drop in revenue, in particular that resulting from production taxes, measures decided by Emmanuel Macron .
And the Court of Auditors seems to doubt the sincerity of the government’s budgetary projections until 2027. effect 9 billion euros of additional savings each year, according to it.
A calculation, however, vigorously contested by Bercy, the Ministry of the Economy.
How is France’s debt level compared to other countries in the euro zone, at the end of the health crisis?
France is one of the “dunce caps” with Spain, Belgium and Italy, tackles the Court of Auditors! That is to say countries whose debt approaches, or even exceeds, 120% of GDP. In contrast to the “virtuous”, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, whose debt remains below 80%.
Hence a real risk of additional stalling for France, especially compared to Germany, if it does not return to more budgetary rigor during the next five-year term. The Court of Auditors even mentions, otherwise, a possible imbalance within the euro zone, likely to threaten its cohesion.