 France’s public debt crisis: Time to restructure?Corrado Andini, Ricardo Cabral and Francisco Louçã No 2026/0435, Working Papers REM from ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa Abstract: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to propose a sovereign debt restructuring for contemporary France. It shows how France could gain meaningful fiscal space through a sovereign debt reprofiling, arguing it is a warranted solution to France’s current fiscal, economic, and social challenges. Such a debt workout would lower the present value of France’s public debt from 113.5% to 64.3% of GDP while halving the country’s problematic net external debt. It would place France on a trajectory toward compliance with the Maastricht’s deficit and debt criteria. The paper further shows how a debt workout could be initiated and managed by France without reliance on external funding. Finally, it contends that a sovereign debt restructuring is an essential tool for any future progressive government seeking to operate within the Maastricht’s framework, thereby pursuing its fiscal priorities without provoking a direct breach of current fiscal rules. Keywords: debt sustainability; debt restructuring; sovereign default; doom loop. (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ise:remwps:wp04352026 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in Working Papers REM from ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, R. Miguel Lupi, 20, LISBON, PORTUGAL. |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.