On Friday, September 12th, international credit agency Fitch lowered their credit rating for France. Although fact-based and analytical in its tone, their report is nevertheless a scathing indictment of the French government—all of it—for its gross mismanagement of the economy.
On the list of factors contributing to the downgrade, we find several that President Macron and the National Assembly could have addressed a long time ago but chose not to. Highest on the list is France’s high and rising debt ratio. Fitch comments:
France’s general government debt ratio will continue to rise, reflecting persistent primary fiscal deficits. Fitch projects debt to increase to 121% of GDP in 2027 from 113.2% in 2024, without a clear horizon for debt stabilisation in subsequent years.
Then the Fitch report makes a chilling point, one that should set off alarm bells left and right for the French government. Although France was not exactly a wonder of fiscal responsibility when President Macron took office in 2017, on his watch, the debt problem has grown from manageable to alarming:
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