The public deficit fell in 2022 and growth reduced the debt burden, according to INSEE

Data down thanks to “the resilience of our economy”. The French public deficit fell to 4.7% of GDP in 2022, after reaching 6.5% in 2021 and 9% in 2020, reports the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), Tuesday March 28 . General government debt is also down slightly, reaching 111.6% of GDP at the end of last year compared to 112.9% at the end of 2021 and 114.6% of GDP at the end of 2020, according to INSEE.

“In 2022, thanks to solid growth and good tax revenues, the level of public debt reaches 111.6% of GDP, which allows us to meet our public finance objective with a deficit that stands below the 5%, to 4.7%”greeted the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, on Twitter. “We confirm our objectives: 3% deficit in 2027 and a reduction in public debt.”

France’s public debt, which increased massively with the health crisis and then inflation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, increased in absolute value by 126.4 billion euros compared to 2021, reaching 2,950 billion euros, details INSEE. But economic growth of 2.6% in 2022 has reduced the weight of this debt as a percentage of GDP.

If the public accounts looked a little better in 2022, the public debt and deficit remain much higher than their pre-crisis level in 2019, due to the massive “whatever the cost” deployed by the government to support the households and businesses. Public debt then represented 97.4% of GDP, and the public deficit stood at 3.1%.