France is the canary

 Read: https://www.davidstockmanscontracorner.com/the-government-debt-disease-is-contagious-viz-france/

https://tradingeconomics.com/france/government-debt-to-gdp

French debt to GDP is either 128% or 113%, depending on the source, and it is continuing to increase at the rate of about 4% of GDP per year.  Either way, France runs an annual deficit of 5.8% of GDP, while its GDP is expected to increase only 0.6% this year.  The French national debt is about 3.4 trillion dollars or 3.346 trillion euros.  France doesn't control its own currency, but the European Central Bank is headed by French politician Christine Lagarde.

France is in even worse financial shape than the US.  If there is some sort of limit, France will hit it before the US will.

The French national debt is managed by Agence France Tresor.  According to them the French national debt is $2.68 trillion euros, which isn't as high as the numbers I listed above. I wonder if there is any sort of French government agency projecting out the debt like the CBO does in the US.

France is trying to reduce their deficit.  The [French] government has committed to bringing its budget deficit, which came in at 5.8 percent of GDP in 2024, back down to 3 percent by 2029 as required by EU rules.  https://www.politico.eu/article/france-cut-7b-spending-debt-record-budget-economy-finance-francois-bayrou-eu-retirement-reform/

I wonder if anyone in France has ever heard of the Magical Money Tree?  Can't they just print euros (or sell bonds directly to the European Central Bank) and spend their way out of their mess?  (/sarcasm).   Anyways, something to keep an eye on.

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Update: France wants other countries to be responsible for part of its debt.  Germany, can you pick up part of the tab?  The excuse is that this will improve the "quality" of European debt in the eyes of investors.

Paris argues that investors are looking for a safe haven from US Treasury debt, so the EU should issue more joint debt to service the market, according to officials familiar with its thinking. France and other heavily indebted countries, including Italy and Spain, have long pushed for more common borrowing in order to be able to spend more on priorities such as defence without adding to their national burden.

https://www.ft.com/content/849edec7-d90e-4083-a63a-8d82c0a3ff74

The decision to issue more joint EU debt can only be taken unanimously. Germany and the Netherlands, who would have to pay back a greater share of the debt, are staunchly opposed to more common borrowing.  Ok, nevermind.

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France had a 94 billion euro deficit in May 2025,