In 2020, the debt had soared to 114.6% and the deficit had widened to 8.9%, record levels, according to revised figures published Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (Insee).

If the public accounts look a little better in 2021, it is mainly due to the 7% economic recovery recorded last year, after the historic 8% recession suffered in 2020 and the "whatever costs" led by the government.

This continued for much of last year, before the deployment of vaccination and the lifting of health restrictions allowed the government to gradually reduce its support for businesses and households.

The Minister of Public Accounts Olivier Dussopt welcomed "good news" on Tuesday on Twitter, believing that these figures "confirm the effectiveness of the emergency plan and the recovery plan for our economy and therefore for the French".

Last fall, the government was less optimistic since it was counting on a public deficit of 8.4% and a debt of 114% for 2021.

But the economic recovery, the improvement on the employment front and the European aid to finance the recovery plan have enabled the State and the social security organizations to garner more revenue than expected: they posted an increase of 8.4% in 2021 (+101.8 billion euros), after a plunge of 4.8% in 2020.

Expenditure by public administrations (State, local authorities and Social Security) jumped again by 4% in 2021 (+57.1 billion euros), driven by the maintenance of emergency support in the face of the health crisis, in particular the solidarity fund, which cost the State more than 23.3 billion euros after 16.3 billion in 2020, and salary increases in the hospital, details INSEE.

The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire and the Minister of Public Accounts Olivier Dussopt, at the Elysée Palace, March 23, 2022 Ludovic MARIN AFP / Archives

Expenditure thus represented 59.2% of GDP in 2021, remaining "beyond their pre-crisis level", notes the National Institute of Statistics.

Uncertain trajectory

In detail, the State deficit reached 143.8 billion euros, that of social security 16.9 billion euros, a marked improvement, and that of local administrations (communities, public operators) to 600 million euros.

The various central administration bodies (Odac) show a surplus of 300 million euros.

While public finances have improved, they are still a long way from returning to their pre-crisis level, already considered worrying by the Court of Auditors.

In absolute value, the public debt has thus further increased by nearly 165 billion euros, to 2,813.1 billion euros.

In 2019, before the health crisis, the debt stood at 97.6% of GDP and the deficit at 3.1%.

For 2022, the government plans to reduce the public deficit to 5% of GDP, in particular thanks to still dynamic growth of 4%.

In its trajectory for the evolution of public finances transmitted in the spring of 2021 in Brussels, the government intends to bring the public deficit below 3% of GDP in 2027 to start reducing the debt burden.

An ambition confirmed by the president-candidate Emmanuel Macron in his program unveiled in mid-March.

The Court of Auditors has however judged this trajectory "uncertain", in its last annual report, stressing that it would require significant additional savings.

The restoration of public finances will "inevitably pass through unprecedented efforts to control our spending" and reforms, insisted its first president Pierre Moscovici.

The first president of the Court of Auditors Pierre Moscovici during a press conference at the Court of Auditors in Paris, February 16, 2022 STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN AFP / Archives

Most presidential candidates promise to tackle the debt and the deficit if they are elected.

However, the uncertainty linked to the war in Ukraine and its economic repercussions could weigh on these ambitions.

Inflation, which has been accelerating for several months, could notably push the European Central Bank to raise its interest rates earlier than expected.

This would risk compromising both growth and France's ability to go into debt at a moderate cost, at a time when it is necessary to invest for the ecological transition.

© 2022 AFP