France's 2027 budget plan raises Social Security debt risk for benefit payments

France's 2027 Social Security budget plan increases the debt burden on the agency managing benefit treasury operations, threatening the timely payment of pensions and healthcare reimbursements. The measure, contained in Article 18 of the financing bill, raises the borrowing capacity of the treasury body instead of amortizing debt long-term, despite repeated warnings from the Cour des comptes. Social protection experts criticize the highly technical provision as risky, noting the government has again prioritized short-term borrowing over sustainable debt reduction for benefit payments.