France will borrow a record amount of 310 billion euros on the markets in 2026

According to Agence France Trésor, this increase is explained by an increase in the amount of debt to be repaid.

This is a record amount. France plans to borrow 310 billion euros in 2026 on the markets, in order to finance the public deficit and refinance debts falling due, according to the program published Tuesday October 14 by Agence France Trésor, responsible for managing the State’s debt. However, this sum compared to the wealth produced by the country over the year, should represent 10.1% of GDP in 2026, a proportion which does not change compared to 2025 and which remains lower than the peak at 11.2% reached in 2020, the year of the health crisis.

For 2025, AFT is maintaining its medium and long-term borrowing program unchanged, set at 300 billion euros. The increase of 10 billion euros planned for 2026 is explained, according to the Agency, by an increase in debt amortization: France must repay 168 billion euros in 2025, an amount which would reach 175.8 billion in 2026. To establish its financing trajectory, the AFT relies on hypotheses of changes in interest rates. The French Treasury anticipates a ten-year rate of around 3.70% in January 2026, then 3.80% a year later, before a gradual increase towards 4.00% by 2029.

Furthermore, the borrowing program must finance the public deficit which must be established in 2026, according to the finance bill presented Tuesday by the government, at 4.7% of GDP. The Prime Minister, however, warned that it could be higher at the end of the parliamentary discussion but remaining below 5%. The text includes an overall effort of 30 billion euros, including around 17 billion euros in spending and nearly 14 billion euros in revenue. The total amount of French debt exceeds 3,400 billion euros.