French public debt exceeds 75% of GDP in third quarter of 2009
Latest update : 2009-12-30
According to the national statistics office INSEE, French public debt rose again in the third quarter of 2009 to hit 1,457.4 billion euros, a record level which amounts to 75.8% of GDP.
AFP - France's public debt soared to a record high level in the third quarter in response to anti-crisis stimulus spending and now amounts to about 75.8 percent of gross domestic product, the INSEE statistics agency said Wednesday.
The third quarter debt ratio was up by 1.9 points from the second quarter and well in excess of the 60 percent stipulated in the Maastricht Treaty that established the financial basis of the eurozone.
The French government has predicted that the ratio will reach 77.9 percent by the end of 2009 and 84 percent in 2010.
The debt in the July to September period rose 29.4 billion euros from the second quarter to a record 1.457 trillion euros (2.1 trillion dollars).
INSEE said the debt surge in the third quarter was mainly used to finance the state budget deficit.
Date created : 2009-12-30
