PARIS (Reuters) – France’s public deficit represented 4.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, compared to 6.5% in 2021, while public debt has been reduced to 111.6% of GDP , after 112.9% the previous year, show data published Tuesday by INSEE.
The deficit, which contracted to 124.9 billion euros against 162 billion in 2021, is lower than the government’s forecasts, which expected it to be 5% of GDP, thanks in particular to good tax revenues.
Public debt remained below the symbolic threshold of 3,000 billion euros, at 2,950 billion.
“In 2022, thanks to solid growth and good tax revenues, particularly from IS (corporate tax), 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 5%”, welcomed on Twitter the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire.
“Our determination to restore public finances remains total. We have the same strategy: improve France’s growth to reduce debt and control our spending. We confirm our objectives: 3% deficit in 2027 and a reduction in public debt “, he added.
Public revenue remained very dynamic in 2022, notes INSEE, increasing in value by 95.7 billion euros (+7.3% compared to 2021). They reached 53.4% ​​of GDP, compared to 52.6% in 2021.
At the same time, public spending increased by 4.0%, a pace similar to that of 2021, and fell as a percentage of GDP, to 58.1% against 59.1% in 2021.
In detail, the State deficit was reduced last year by 5.5 billion euros, excluding the assumption of debt from SNCF Réseau (10 billion).
The balance of social security administrations, which showed a deficit of 17.2 billion euros in 2021, returned to surplus in 2022 (+9.2 billion), which is explained by a 7.1% increase in receipts from tax and social contributions, notably from the CSG, while expenditure increased more moderately (+3%).
The accounts of local authorities also showed a surplus of 4.8 billion last year.
(Written by Bertrand Boucey and Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
