France is facing a storm of political and economic turmoil as its public debt soars to unprecedented heights and the nation reels from the dramatic sentencing of former President Nicolas Sarkozy. The latest data, released on September 25, 2025, by the national statistics bureau INSEE and reported by AFP, revealed that France’s public debt has ballooned to a record 3.4 trillion euros ($4 trillion) in the second quarter of the year. This staggering figure represents 115.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), making France’s debt-to-GDP ratio the third-highest in the European Union—surpassed only by Greece and Italy and nearly double the 60 percent cap set by EU rules.
The debt mountain grew by almost 80 billion euros in just three months, underscoring the scale of the fiscal challenge confronting France’s new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu. Lecornu, who took office earlier this month after the abrupt ousting of his predecessor François Bayrou, faces a daunting task: he must form a new government and deliver a credible budget proposal by mid-October, with a parliamentary vote due by year’s end. Yet, as political divisions deepen and street protests intensify, Lecornu’s grip on power appears tenuous. At a recent meeting with union leaders, he reportedly described himself as “the weakest prime minister of the Fifth Republic,” a system established in 1958 under Charles de Gaulle.
Bayrou, who lasted just nine months in the role, had proposed a series of austerity measures aimed at saving 44 billion euros to curb France’s ballooning annual deficit—the highest in the EU—and slow the relentless growth of public debt. However, with the Macron-aligned bloc in the National Assembly holding only a minority, passing any budget is expected to be a Herculean feat. The right-wing opposition is demanding 35 billion euros in budgetary savings, while the left will accept no more than 22 billion, according to reports from Lecornu’s consultations with various political factions. In such a polarized environment, “the passing of a budget from one year to the next is already an extraordinary achievement,” Mathieu Plane, deputy analysis and forecasting director at the OFCE economics institute, told AFP.
The economic crisis is not simply a legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. While accelerated spending to alleviate pandemic impacts and offset inflationary pressures have certainly played their part, economists also point to a series of unfunded tax cuts as a structural driver of the deficit. “This deficit is not only a crisis deficit, it’s also structural,” Plane explained. The depth of the crisis is further highlighted by the recent decision of U.S. ratings agency Fitch to downgrade France’s credit rating from “AA-“ to “A+”, warning that the country’s debt mountain would keep rising until at least 2027 unless urgent action is taken.
International investors have begun demanding an increased risk premium for purchasing French sovereign debt, adding to the government’s financing costs and further limiting fiscal maneuverability. François Ecalle, president of Fipeco, a public finance watchdog, told AFP, “We are not currently in a position that would allow us to stabilize the debt.” Ecalle suggested that both spending cuts and tax hikes—including higher taxes on the wealthy—would be necessary. “It is necessary, if only for social and political reasons, to tax the rich a bit more,” he said.
As Lecornu attempts to steady the ship, he has offered some symbolic gestures—promising to abolish lifelong privileges for former prime ministers and scrapping a plan to eliminate two public holidays. Yet experts agree these measures are largely cosmetic and unlikely to address the underlying fiscal imbalance. Meanwhile, unions have announced fresh demonstrations for October 2, following last week’s protests that saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets, venting their anger at President Emmanuel Macron and accusing him of pushing austerity while sparing the wealthy from similar sacrifices.
The political drama has been compounded by the sensational conviction of former President Nicolas Sarkozy. On September 25, a Paris court sentenced the 70-year-old ex-leader to five years in jail, a €100,000 fine, and a five-year ban from public office after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy. The case centered on allegations that Sarkozy sought millions from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential campaign. Although the court acquitted him of passive corruption, embezzlement of Libyan funds, and illegal campaign financing—citing insufficient proof that Libyan money actually reached his coffers—judges ruled that Sarkozy and his associates worked with Libyan officials between 2005 and 2007 to secure illicit campaign financing.
The court’s verdict made Sarkozy the first former president of modern France to be sentenced to actual jail time. After the ruling, Sarkozy defiantly declared, “I will take responsibility. I will comply with the summons of justice. And if they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison. But with my head held high. I am innocent.” He plans to appeal, but must report to prosecutors by October 13 to be informed when his incarceration will begin. Even if he appeals, his imprisonment must start within four months of sentencing.
The political fallout has been immediate and fierce. Conservative allies have rallied around Sarkozy, urging President Macron to grant him a pardon. Stéphane Le Rudulier, a senator from the conservative Les Républicains party, called on Macron to use his powers of clemency, while far-right leader Marine Le Pen warned that the ruling set a dangerous precedent for the justice system. On the left, critics have mocked Sarkozy’s downfall. Green MP Benjamin Lucas quipped, “In the end, Sarkozy got his new five-year term,” in a pointed reference to the length of the sentence.
The trial, which lasted three months, drew in 11 co-defendants—including three former ministers—and was marred by the death of one of Sarkozy’s fiercest accusers, businessman Ziad Takieddine, before he could take the stand. The case also cast a shadow over other ongoing legal battles facing Sarkozy, including an appeal in the so-called Bygmalion affair, where he was sentenced to a year in prison for overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign, and the Bismuth case over corruption and influence peddling, now before the European Court of Human Rights.
The timing of Sarkozy’s conviction could hardly be worse for Macron. The country is already deeply polarized, with the president caught between outrage on the left and fury on the right. Just one week before the sentencing, Paris saw nearly a million anti-Macron protesters flood the streets in a “day of rage,” clashing with police and demanding higher taxes on the wealthy and the reversal of planned budget cuts. The strikes and demonstrations have only intensified the pressure on Macron and his freshly appointed prime minister, Lecornu.
As France stands at this crossroads, the choices made in the coming weeks—on the budget, on Sarkozy’s fate, and on the country’s economic direction—will shape the nation’s future for years to come.
