Informations rapides
30 June 2017
2017- n° 171
At the end of Q1 2017, the Maastricht debt accounted for 98.9% of GDP Debt of the general government according to the Maastricht definition - first quarter 2017

At the end of Q1 2017, the Maastricht debt amounted to €2,209.6 billion, a €62.3 billion increase in comparison to Q4 2016. It accounted for 98.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), 2.6 points higher than last quarter's level. By contrast, the net public debt increased moderately (€ +24.8 billion).

Informations rapides
No 171
Paru le :Paru le30/06/2017
Prochaine parution le : 26/06/2025 at 08:45 - first quarter 2025
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Warnings: 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 quarter. To obtain the deficit from the change in the Maastricht gross public debt, net acquisitions of financial assets and of liabilities excluded from the Maastricht debt definition must also be taken into consideration, as well as the fact that the Maastricht debt is in nominal value. Moreover, the quarterly deficit published by INSEE is seasonally and trading-day adjusted, which is not the case of the quarterly debt.

The Maastricht debt increased by €62.3 billion compared to the previous quarter

At the end of Q1 2017, the Maastricht debt amounted to €2,209.6 billion, a €62.3 billion increase in comparison to Q4 2016. It accounted for 98.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), 2.6 points higher than last quarter's level. By contrast, the net public debt increased moderately (€ +24.8 billion).

State and social security funds debts went up

In the first quarter of 2017, the State contribution to the debt increased by €49.5 billion. This rise stemmed mainly from both long-term (€ +39.5 billion) and short-term (€ +13.7 billion) negotiable debt. Conversely, deposits at the French Treasury decreased (€ −3.6 billion) and the amounts of loans against the State diminished slightly (€ −0.1 billion).

The contribution of social security funds to the debt increased (€ +15.0 billion), above all because of ACOSS (€ +10.6 billion), UNEDIC (€ +3.0 billion), CADES (€ +1.6 billion) and, to a lesser extent, CNAM (€ +0.2 billion). Conversely, hospitals reduced their debt (€ −0.3 billion).

Local government and central agencies debts decreased

In Q1 2017, the contribution of local government went down by € −1.2 billion: municipalities reduced its debt by €0.8 billion, departments by €0.7 billion and syndicates by €0.1 billion. Conversely, regions borrowed €0.4 billion.

Central agencies' contribution diminished too (€ −1.0 billion) thanks to the Caisse nationale des autoroutes (CNA).

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)) -
2016Q1 2016Q2 2016Q3 2016Q4 2017Q1
General Government 2,139.5 2,171.2 2,161.0 2,147.2 2,209.6
%of GDP 97.1% 98.1% 97.4% 96.3% 98.9%
of which, by sub-sector :
State 1,694.7 1,724.5 1,722.2 1,709.9 1,759.4
Central Agencies 19.5 18.7 17.2 12.7 11.7
Local Government 194.3 194.7 193.1 199.6 198.4
Social security funds 231.0 233.3 228.5 225.0 240.1
of which, by category
Currency and deposits 36.7 37.3 38.1 36.5 32.8
Securities other than shares 1,812.5 1,843.9 1,836.6 1,817.3 1,887.7
short-term 188.5 194.5 180.3 168.0 195.8
long-term 1,623.9 1,649.3 1,656.3 1,649.4 1,691.9
Loans 290.4 290.1 286.3 293.5 289.2
short-term 13.8 15.0 12.6 13.3 12.2
long-term 276.6 275.1 273.8 280.2 276.9
  • (*) Explanations in the box "For more details"
  • Source: National Accounts 2010 basis - INSEE, DGFiP, Banque de France

In Q1 2017, the net public debt increased by €24.8 billion

At the end of Q1 2017, the net public debt reached €1,981.7 billion (equivalent to 88.7% of GDP versus to 87.8% in Q4 2016), a €24.8 billion rise compared to the previous quarter. The €37.5 billion gap between changes in net and gross debt is mainly explained by a sharp increase in the cash position of the State (€ +32.3 billion), of social security funds (€ +5.2 billion) and central agencies (€ +0.7 billion). Furthermore the State and local government lent €0.4 billion and €0.2 billion. However, the Caisse nationale des autoroutes (CAN) got €1.3 billion of loans reimbursed.

TableauB – General government net debt by sub-sector

(billion euros)
General government net debt by sub-sector ((billion euros)) -
2016Q1 2016Q2 2016Q3 2016Q4 2017Q1
General government 1,924.9 1,949.8 1,953.3 1,956.9 1,981.7
of which :
The State 1,571.8 1,592.2 1,601.4 1,607.9 1,624.8
Central Agencies 2.5 3.4 3.0 –1.5 –1.9
Local government 182.1 182.5 180.8 187.4 186.1
Social security funds 168.5 171.6 168.1 162.9 172.7

Graph_dette_nette – Maastricht gross debt and net debt

The overall value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares held by general government increased

In Q1 2017, the overall value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares held by general government units went up to €224.7 billion, a €4.4 billion increase compared to Q4 2016. The quoted shares held by social security funds gained €0.6 billion of value. Furthermore, purchases of quoted shares of EDF (€3.0 billion) and Areva (€0.3 billion) by the State were offset by the sale of €1.1 billion of Engie quoted shares.

The value of mutual fund shares held went up by €4.8 billion, of which €3.9 billion purchased by social security funds and €1.0 billion came from valuation. Conversely, central agencies got rid of €0.1 billion of mutual fund shares.

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)) -
2016Q1 2016Q2 2016Q3 2016Q4 2017Q1
General government 210.1 203.3 214.7 220.3 224.7
of which :
The State 56.8 52.8 57.5 55.4 54.4
Central Agencies 28.7 27.7 29.3 32.1 32.0
Local government 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Social security funds 124.5 122.7 127.7 132.5 138.2

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

Documentation

Methodology (pdf,131 Ko)

Quarterly national accounts

Pour en savoir plus

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Publication calendar

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

Quaterly national accounts