Informations rapides
24 December 2013
2013- n° 300
At the end of Q3 2013, the Maastricht debt reached 1,900.8 billion euros Debt of the general government according to the Maastricht definition - 3rd quarter 2013

Warning: Quarterly debt figures are based on an accounting data source less exhaustive than the annual accounts. Results may therefore be updated during several quarters.

Informations rapides
No 300
Paru le :Paru le24/12/2013
Prochaine parution le : 26/06/2025 at 08:45 - first quarter 2025
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Warning: Quarterly debt figures are based on an accounting data source less exhaustive than the annual accounts. Results may therefore be updated during several quarters.

Quarterly debt variations alone are not sufficient to forecast the deficit for the current year. To obtain the deficit from the change in Maastricht gross public debt, net acquisitions of financial assets and other accounts receivable and payable must also be taken into consideration.

The Maastricht debt decreased by €11.4bn between the second quarter and the third quarter of 2013…

At the end of Q3 2013, the Maastricht debt reached €1,900.8bn, a €11.4bn decrease in comparison to Q2 2013. It accounted for 92.7 % of GDP, 0.8 point lower than Q2 2013’s peak. Conversely, the net public debt grew by €15.0bn.

…as a result of the fall of the State’s

The State’s contribution to the debt dropped by €9.3bn in the third quarter. The decrease was driven by long-term negotiable debt (-€15.2bn) whereas the outstanding of short-term bills grew by €5.6bn. The State also recorded a €0.8bn long-term debt related to loans granted by the EFSF to Eurozone countries (see box below). Besides, the Trésor deposit liabilities slightly decreased (-€0.4bn).

Central agencies’ and social security funds’ debt also went down

The contribution to debt of central agencies (central government units other than the State) went down by €1.3bn due to the redemption by the CDP (Caisse de la dette publique) of €1.1bn debt related to the debt assumption from the SAAD (Service annexe d’amortissement de la dette).

Social security funds contribution to debt diminished by €1.0bn : Cades’ debt decreased by €5.4bn thanks to the €6.2bn redemption of long-term securities. The General social security system got into debt for €3.4bn, including €3.0bn of new debt for Acoss. Besides, Unedic issued €0.9bn of securites.

Local government units contribution to debt remained steady (+€0.2bn).

GraphIR – General government debt under the Maastricht treaty (% of GDP) (*)

TableauA – General government debt under the Maastricht treaty by sub-sector and by category

(billion euros)
General government debt under the Maastricht treaty by sub-sector and by category ((billion euros))
2012Q3 2012Q4 2013Q1 2013Q2 2013Q3
General Government 1,818.0 1,833.8 1,870.3 1,912.2 1,900.8
% of GDP 89.7% 90.2% 91.8% 93.5% 92.7%
of which, by sub-sector:
State 1,421.2 1,439.9 1,477.2 1,519.0 1,509.8
Central Agencies 9.8 9.9 9.9 9.9 8.6
Local Government 162.1 173.7 170.5 169.7 169.8
Social security funds 224.9 210.3 212.7 213.6 212.6
of which, by category
Currency and deposits 32.3 37.7 37.0 35.9 35.6
Securities other than shares 1,556.5 1,546.1 1,587.4 1,627.6 1,615.2
short-term 214.1 191.6 202.7 201.6 209.5
long-term 1,342.4 1,354.4 1,384.6 1,426.0 1,405.7
Loans 229.1 250.0 245.9 248.7 250.1
short-term 8.7 8.1 8.6 6.7 8.4
long-term 220.4 242.0 237.3 241.9 241.7
  • (*) Explanations in the box "For more details"
  • Source : National Accounts 2005 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

The public net debt still rises

At the end of Q3 2013, the net public debt reached €1,730.2bn (equivalent to 84.3 % of GDP as opposed to 83.8 % in the previous quarter), a €15.0bn increase compared to the previous quarter. The €26.4bn gap between changes in net and gross debt is explained by the strong decline of the State treasury (-€28.6bn). The gap also reflects the impact of €1.1bn in new loans granted by the State including €0.8bn to Eurozone countries (see box below), and the purchase by the FRR and the RSI of securities respectively worth €0.6bn and €0.3bn.

TableauB – General government net debt by sub-sector

(billion euros)
General government net debt by sub-sector ((billion euros))
2012Q3 2012Q4 2013Q1 2013Q2 2013Q3
General government 1,642.9 1,675.1 1,697.1 1,715.2 1,730.2
of which:
The State 1,330.9 1,348.1 1,371.0 1,391.8 1,410.0
Central Agencies –3.3 –2.9 –3.3 –3.5 –4.8
Local government 152.3 163.9 160.9 160.1 160.2
Social security funds 163.0 166.1 168.4 166.8 164.8

    Graph_dette_nette – Maastricht gross debt and net debt

    The value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares strongly increased

    At the end of Q3 2013, the value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares held by general government units reached €202.3 bn, a €20.3bn rise compared to Q2 2013. The value of quoted shares went up by €17.8bn due to the appreciation of shares held by State (+€15.1bn). The value of mutual fund shares increased more moderately by €2.5bn also due to the rise of the stock market.

    TableauC – General government holdings of quoted shares and mutual fund shares

    (billion euros)
    General government holdings of quoted shares and mutual fund shares ((billion euros))
    2012Q3 2012Q4 2013Q1 2013Q2 2013Q3
    General government 176.8 170.1 175.0 182.0 202.3
    of which:
    The State 52.7 47.9 49.8 56.7 71.8
    Central Agencies 24.5 26.1 26.9 27.0 30.0
    Local government 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
    Social security funds 99.0 95.5 97.6 97.7 99.9

      Graph_F5 – General government holdings of quoted shares and mutual fund shares

      Remark: The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), settled on June 7th 2010, borrow on financial market to lend to Eurozone countries in turmoil (Greece, Portugal, Ireland). Its bonds issuances are guaranteed by the other Member States, including France. Following Eurostat’s decision of January 27th 2011, all the operations of the EFSF are reincorporated into the public accounts of the guarantor States, proportionally to their commitments. This treatment leaves their net debts unchanged. During Q3 2013, France thus got into €0.8bn of debt in order to lend €0.6bn to Greece and €0.2bn to Ireland through the EFSF.

      Documentation

      Methodology (pdf,131 Ko)

      Quarterly national accounts

      Pour en savoir plus

      : bureau-de-presse@insee.fr
      :

      Publication calendar

      Time series : General government debt and deficit as defined by Maastricht

      Quaterly national accounts