INSEE
France's national statistics and economic studies institute.
On 29 September 2026 INSEE put French Maastricht gross debt at 119.0% of GDP at the end of June, or €3,595.5bn, up from 117.5% three months earlier.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
France owes more than Britain relative to GDP, yet borrows more cheaply. Why?
Timeline for INSEE
Reported French gross debt at 119.0% of GDP
Is Britain Actually Broke?: 30-year gilt passes 6%, last seen 1998Background
INSEE, the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, is France's national statistics institute. Its output runs from short-term economic diagnoses and The National accounts to demographic and business statistics, and it manages Sirene, the French business register.
Its quarterly public debt release of 29 September 2026 recorded Maastricht gross debt of €3,595.5bn at the end of the second quarter, equal to 119.0% of GDP. The total grew by €59.6bn in three months, lifting the ratio from 117.5%. Net debt went from 109.7% to 111.4%. Central government added €53.0bn of the increase, chiefly through long-term securities.
INSEE's 119.0% is an end-of-quarter outturn. Britain's comparable gross figure, 101.0%, is an IMF projection on a fiscal-year basis, so the two are measured at different dates. On borrowing costs the order reverses: France's 10-year yield stood roughly 0.7 percentage points below Britain's on 6 October, on aggregator data.
