France's public finances improved more than expected in 2025, the national statistics office INSEE said, with the public sector deficit falling to 5.1% of gross domestic product. That outcome represents an improvement from the 5.8% shortfall recorded in 2024 and is stronger than the government's most recent projection of a 5.4% deficit for 2025.
INSEE's figures show a combination of a narrowing fiscal gap and a rise in the stock of public debt. The statistics agency put public debt at 115.6% of GDP for 2025, up from 112.6% in 2024. That debt ratio is slightly below the government's own expectation for 2025, which stood at 115.9%.
The government has set a target of reducing the deficit further to 5.0% of GDP in the current year. That step sits within a broader fiscal objective to bring the shortfall back toward an European Union ceiling of 3% of GDP by 2029. The INSEE release confirms that last year’s outturn was better than anticipated, while also highlighting the continued elevation of the debt burden relative to output.
The INSEE numbers provide two clear signals: first, that economic growth or other factors driving revenues and spending produced a smaller-than-expected fiscal shortfall in 2025; and second, that the public debt ratio remains above 100% of GDP and rose year-on-year despite the narrower deficit. The government's plan to tighten the deficit to 5.0% this year is reaffirmed in the context of the longer-term aim to reach the 3% EU threshold by 2029.
While INSEE’s assessment shows a better fiscal position in 2025 than the government had last estimated, the statistics underscore the gap between current public debt levels and the government's medium-term target. Observers will watch whether the planned reduction to a 5.0% deficit this year can be achieved and how that will affect the trajectory toward the EU ceiling.
Data snapshot
- 2025 public sector deficit: 5.1% of GDP (INSEE)
- 2024 public sector deficit: 5.8% of GDP
- Government's last estimate for 2025 deficit: 5.4% of GDP
- 2025 public debt: 115.6% of GDP (INSEE)
- 2024 public debt: 112.6% of GDP
- Government's expected 2025 debt: 115.9% of GDP