French budgets: increasingly atypical in Europe

There are crises that trigger an awakening, and then major efforts to correct the situation. Not in France, not when it comes to public finances. In 2024, the deficit deepened like never before outside phase of recessions. The political crisis that followed (the fall of the Barnier government, special legislation) did not change the core problem, which can be summed up in two points. First, the state spends way above its means. Second, politicians are paralysed by the fiscal adjustment required to stabilize debt for fear of ruining their political future forever. The headlong rush away from the problem continues. What is new is that France is now the only country in Europe in denial of its debt sustainability problem.