Informations rapides
26 March 2018
2018- n° 80
At the end of Q4 2017, the Maastricht debt accounted for €2,218.4 billion Debt of the general government according to the Maastricht definition - fourth quarter 2017

At the end of Q4 2017, the Maastricht debt reached €2,218.4 billion, a €12.9 billion decrease in comparison to Q3 2017. It accounted for 97.0% of gross domestic product (GDP), 1.3 point lower than last quarter. By contrast, the net public debt increased (€ +11.6 billion).

Informations rapides
No 80
Paru le :Paru le26/03/2018
Prochaine parution le : 28/06/2024 at 08:45 - first quarter 2024
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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 are not equal to the forecasted 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 decreased by €12.9 billion compared to the previous quarter

At the end of Q4 2017, the Maastricht debt reached €2,218.4 billion, a €12.9 billion decrease in comparison to Q3 2017. It accounted for 97.0% of gross domestic product (GDP), 1.3 point lower than last quarter. By contrast, the net public debt increased (€ +11.6 billion).

State debt went down and central agencies debt remained nearly stable

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the State contribution to the debt decreased by €20.6 billion. This diminution stemmed mainly from short-term negotiable debt (€ −17.7 billion). Deposits at the French Treasury (€ −1.4 billion) and credits on the liability side (€ −1.3 billion) decreased to a lesser extent.

The contribution of central agencies to the debt remained nearly stable (€ −0.1 billion). The Caisse nationale des autoroutes (CNA) and the Société anonyme de gestion de stocks de sécurité (Sagess) reduced their debts respectively by €0.1 billion and by €0.3 billion. Conversely, the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA) contracted €0.1 billion of debt.

Local government and social security funds debts went up

In Q4 2017, the local government contribution to the debt went up by € 5.0 billion: Municipalities borrowed € 2.2 billion, departments € 1.0 billion, regions € 0.9 billion and other units in local government € 0.6 billion.

The contribution of social security funds went up too by € 2.9 billion above all because of ACOSS (€ +7.3 billion) and to a lesser extent because of UNEDIC (€ +0.7 billion), CNAF (€ +0.7 billion) and hospitals (€ 0.5 billion). Conversely, CADES decreased its debt (€ 6.3 billion).

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

  • Source: National Accounts 2014 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

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)) -
2016Q4 2017Q1 2017Q2 2017Q3 2017Q4
General Government 2 152,5 2 214,9 2 236,8 2 231,3 2 218,4
%of GDP 96,6% 99,0% 99,3% 98,3% 97,0%
of which, by sub-sector :
State 1 714,3 1 763,8 1 794,8 1 799,6 1 779,0
Central agencies 13,2 12,2 11,9 11,9 11,8
Local Government 200,2 199,0 198,1 196,6 201,5
Social security funds 224,9 239,9 232,1 223,3 226,1
of which, by category
Currency and deposits 36,9 33,2 37,4 38,9 37,4
Securities other than shares 1 818,8 1 890,1 1 910,9 1 906,0 1 890,7
short-term 169,5 198,3 200,1 186,8 173,9
long-term 1 649,3 1 691,8 1 710,8 1 719,2 1 716,8
Loans 296,9 291,6 288,5 286,4 290,3
short-term 11,5 9,5 8,2 7,2 7,0
long-term 285,3 282,0 280,3 279,2 283,4
  • (*) Explanations in the box "For more details"
  • Source: National Accounts 2014 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

In Q4 2017, the net public debt increased by €11.6 billion

At the end of Q4 2017, the net public debt reached €2,005.5 billion (equivalent to 87.7% of GDP versus 87.8% in Q3 2017), a €11.6 billion increase compared to the previous quarter. The €24.5 billion gap between changes in net and gross debt is mainly explained by a sharp decrease in the cash position of both the State (€ −20.5 billion) and the social security funds (€ −3.7 billion).

TableauB – General government net debt by sub-sector

(billion euros)
General government net debt by sub-sector ((billion euros)) -
2016Q4 2017Q1 2017Q2 2017Q3 2017Q4
General government 1 949,7 1 975,3 1 995,7 1 993,9 2 005,5
of which :
The State 1 613,9 1 630,7 1 655,6 1 669,2 1 668,6
Central agencies –1,1 –1,4 –1,0 –1,1 –1,3
Local government 188,1 186,7 185,7 184,3 189,4
Social security funds 148,8 159,4 155,4 141,5 148,7
  • Source: National Accounts 2014 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

Graph_dette_nette – Maastricht gross debt and net debt

  • Source: National Accounts 2014 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

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

In Q4 2017, the overall value of quoted shares and mutual fund shares held by general government units went up to €231.6 billion, a €1.0 billion increase compared to Q3 2017.

The quoted shares held by the State decreased by €1.7 billion despite the rise in stock market prices, in particular Aéroports de Paris. The State sold indeed €1.4 billion of Engie shares, €1.2 billion of Renault shares and €1.1 billion of Alstom shares.

The value of mutual fund shares increased (€ +2.7 billion) due to the acquisitions from social security funds (€ +3.0 billion). Conversely, central agencies got rid off € +0.3 billion.

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)) -
2016Q4 2017Q1 2017Q2 2017Q3 2017Q4
General government 212,3 220,3 223,4 230,6 231,6
of which :
The State 53,6 53,2 58,0 61,1 59,5
Central agencies 34,1 35,2 35,4 36,5 35,9
Local government 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1
Social security funds 124,5 131,8 129,9 132,9 136,1
  • Source: National Accounts 2014 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

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

  • Source: National Accounts 2014 basis - Insee, DGFiP, Banque de France

Documentation

Methodology (pdf,131 Ko)

Quarterly national accounts

Pour en savoir plus

: bureau-de-presse@insee.fr
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Publication calendar

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

Quaterly national accounts