Informations Rapides · 16 December 2022 · n° 330

At the end of Q3 2022, the Maastricht debt accounted for €2,956.8 billion Debt of the general government according to the Maastricht definition - third quarter 2022

At the end of Q3 2022, Maastricht’s debt reached €2,956.8 billion, a €40.0 billion increase, after a +€6.2 billion increase during the previous quarter. It accounted for 113.7% of GDP, after 113.3% in last quarter. As in the second quarter, public administrations draw on their cash resources (-€11.6 billion, after -€41.4 billion) to meet their financing needs. In consequence, net public debt increased strongly (+€52.7 billion).

In the third quarter of 2022, the contribution of the State to the public debt increased by €36.4 billion, after +€16.3 billion in the previous quarter. This increase was again driven by the outstanding amount of long-term negotiable securities (+€38.8 billion after +€18.0 billion). On the other hand, Treasury correspondents' deposits and short-term negotiable securities decreased (-€2.0 billion and -€0.4 billion respectively). The State used its treasury this quarter (-€23.6 billion after -€28.2 billion), so that its net debt increased by €60.6 billion.

The contribution of the social securities funds (Asso) to the public debt increased by €8.8 billion in Q3 2022 (after -€9.3 billion in the previous quarter). In particular, the increase in Cades' long-term debt (+€9.6 billion) was only partially offset by the reduction in its short-term debt (-€3.4 billion). The debt of the Urssaf Caisse Nationale (ex-Acoss) increased in the form of short-term securities (+€3.7 billion). Unédic reduced its short-term debt by €1.1 billion.

The contribution to the public debt of local public administrations decreased in the third quarter (-€6.2 billion after+€2.7 billion in the previous quarter), mainly due to the debt reduction of local authorities (-€5.7 billion of which -€2.4 billion for municipalities, -€2.2 billion for regions and -€1.1 billion for departments). The other local government bodies complete this decrease due to the short-term debt reduction of Île-de-France Mobilité (-€0.5 billion).

The contribution of the other central government bodies (Odac) to the public debt increased slightly in the third quarter (+€1.0 billion, after -€3.5 billion), mainly due to the debt of SNCF Réseau (+€0.6 billion). France Compétence, Bpifrance Participations and Universities accounted for the rest of the increase.

General government net debt amounted to €2,651.8 billion in the third quarter, after €2,599.1 billion in the second quarter (that is +€52.7 billion). It stood at 101.9% of GDP. The difference with the increase in gross debt this quarter result from the diminution of cash position (-€11.6 billion).

In the third quarter of 2022, the total value of listed shares and mutual funds held by general government increased by €5.7 billion, to €289.2 billion. This increase was due to gains in holdings of State shares (+€8.4 billion), these gains being due in particular to the valuation of EDF shares following the announcement of the State's share buyback project. On the other hand, the value of holdings of Odacs and Asso decreased, due to the drop in share prices (-€5.6 billion), while purchases (net of sales) amounted to +€2.3 billion.