France's Debt Crisis: A Fiscal Time Bomb

France's public finances are deteriorating rapidly, with Fitch Ratings projecting no recovery by 2030, as the deficit remains near 5.5% of GDP and public debt approaches 124% of GDP. The cost of servicing this debt is set to reach levels unseen since World War II. Financial markets are increasingly reluctant to fund French spending, with 10-year bond yields near 5%, the highest since 2002, and the spread over German rates at its widest since 2011. Credit default swaps now cost six times more than Germany's and are 60% higher than Greece's. The crisis stems from governments' failure to move beyond pandemic-era "whatever it costs" spending, incomplete structural reforms, and political instability following the 2024 dissolution. Analysts also cite a lack of political courage to overhaul public spending and evaluate policy effectiveness.