23 December 2016

2016- n° 343

At the end of Q3 2016, the Maastricht debt accounted for 97.6% of GDP Debt of the general government according to the Maastricht definition - third quarter 2016

At the end of Q3 2016, the Maastricht debt amounted to €2,160.4 billion, a €10.3 billion decrease in comparison to Q2 2016. It accounted for 97.6% of GDP, 0.9 points lower than the Q2 2016's level. By contrast, the net public debt increased moderately (€ +3.6 billion).

In the third quarter of 2016, the contribution of Social security funds contribution to the debt decreased (€ −4.8 billion), above all because of ACOSS (€ −6.8 billion). Conversely, CADES borrowed €1.1 billion from units outside general government. To a lesser extent, UNEDIC (€ +0.6 billion), CNAF (€ +0.2 billion) and Pôle Emploi (€ +0.1 billion) increased their contribution to the debt.

The State contribution to the debt decreased by €2.3 billion. This diminution stemmed mainly from short-term negotiable debt (€ −10.2 billion). This sharp decrease was partially offset by a rise in long-term negotiable debt rising (€ +7.0 billion). Furthermore, deposits at the French Treasury increased (€ +0.8 billion).

The contribution of local government also went down (€ −1.7 billion). Both departments and regions paid back €0.8 billion. To a lesser extent, municipalities and intercommunal syndicates reduced their debt by €0.4 billion and €0.1 billion. On the other hand, local agencies borrowed €0.5 billion long-term loans.

Central agencies' contribution diminished too (€ −1.5 billion) mainly thanks to the Caisse nationale des autoroutes (CNA) which reduced its long-term debt by €0.9 billion. Moreover, the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique and the Banque publique d'investissement respectively paid back €0.4 billion and €0.3 billion of long-term loans.

At the end of Q3 2016, the net public debt reached €1,952.5 billion (equivalent to 88.2% of GDP versus to 88.4% in Q2 2016), a €3.6 billion rise compared to the previous quarter. The €13.9 billion gap between changes in net and gross debt is mainly explained by a sharp decrease in the State's cash position (€ −11.3 billion). The Cash position of social security funds decreased as well (€ −1.4 billion). Central agencies got reimbursed €1.0 billion of loans.

In Q3 2016, the overall value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares held by general government units went up to €210.8 billion, a €4.6 billion increase compared to Q2 2016. The Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR) bought €0.5 billion of quoted shares. The quoted shares held by the State gained €1.3 billion of value. Concurrently, social security funds' shares gained €0.2 billion of value.

The value of mutual fund shares held went up by €2.7 billion, mainly due to FRR (€ +0.6 billion), CNAVPL (Caisse nationale d'assurance vieillesse des professions libérales) (€ +0.3 billion) and RSI (régime spécial des indépendants) (€ +0.3 billion). Finally, the value of various mutual fund shares held by the general government increased by €1.0 billion.