As it does every year at the beginning of the summer, the Cour des comptes publishes its annual report on the situation and outlook for public finances, intended to inform the public debate ahead of the preparation of the financial texts to be presented to Parliament in the autumn. France has just gone through two dark years in terms of public finances. After an unexpected deterioration in the public deficit of 0.6 points of GDP in 2023, it has risen again by 0.4 points in 2024 to 5.8%, or €168.6bn. This drift owes nothing to external circumstances: it is the consequence of overly favourable assumptions about growth and revenues, but above all of an inability to control spending dynamics and to commit to long-term savings. These two years of drift have led to a doubling of the adjustment efforts needed to bring the deficit back below 3 points of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the decade: these now amount to almost €105bn by 2029, compared with pre-crisis trends, versus around €50bn two years ago. Demanding and difficult, this return to control of our public finances from 2026 is imperative for debt sustainability, to which the Cour des comptes is devoting a specific chapter this year.
