Economy. Bercy forecasts that the public deficit will reach 5.1% in 2024

France now anticipates a public deficit of 5.1% of GDP this year, instead of 4.4% previously forecast, which will require finding another 10 billion euros in 2024, for a return to 2.9% of GDP. GDP in 2027, Bercy announced on Wednesday.

The debt for its part would vary little between now and 2027 as a percentage of GDP, going from 112.3% this year to 112%, but the burden itself would soar, going from 46.3 billion euros in 2024. to 72.3 billion in 2027, according to this data from the new French Stability program presented Wednesday by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance.

An effort required of local authorities

The high figure for the 2024 deficit is the consequence of the strong slippage recorded in 2023, where it reached 5.5% of GDP instead of the 4.9% forecast, due to revenues much lower than expected, Bercy recalled.

The return below 3% in 2027 (after 4.1% in 2025 and 3.6% in 2026), demanded by Brussels, would be supported by growth of 1.4% in 2025, 1.7% in 2026 and 1 .8% in 2027, according to Bercy which mentions “signs of recovery”.

As for the 10 billion euros that still need to be found this year, in addition to the 10 billion in savings on the state budget already announced in February, they could partially be found in “fairly significant reserves” ministries, according to Bercy.

But local authorities, “like other stakeholders and other public authorities”, will also be asked to be “stakeholders in this recovery”, warned the ministry. In total, Bercy described the new objectives announced on Wednesday as “ambitious but credible”.