French Interior Minister: The country is on the edge of a financial abyss

France has never been so close to the financial abyss as it is now, said the country's Interior Minister and leader of the right-wing Republicans party, Bruno Retaio. His words are quoted by TF1Info.

"The situation is serious. France has never been so close to the financial abyss," the minister said.

Retaio added that "54% of the French public debt is in the hands of foreigners." According to him, this is a problem not only for the economy, but also for the sovereignty of the country, and the republic may face not only economic, but also political collapse.

According to TF1Info, since the inauguration of French President Emmanuel Macron, the country has accumulated an additional debt of almost $ 1 trillion. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou made the reduction of public debt a priority of his government, but he continued to be criticized because of the rapid growth of debt.

France's public debt has grown rapidly in recent decades, rising from 60% to 114% of GDP in 25 years. The € 1 trillion mark was overcome in 2003, 20 years later the debt exceeded € 3 trillion (€ 3.103 trillion, or 109.8% of GDP). Among the reasons, La Depeche cites the economic crisis of 2008 and the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, France's public debt amounted to €3.345 trillion, or 114% of GDP. The largest borrower with a share of more than 80% is the state.

Retaio made a statement against the backdrop of another round of political crisis in France: on September 8, the French parliament should again vote on a vote of confidence in the Bayrou government. Earlier, Tom had already managed to avoid a decision not in favor of the Cabinet. Earlier, the Interior Minister called on deputies to support the current government.

The political crisis has been going on in France for more than a year. In June 2024, after the announcement of the preliminary results of the European Parliament elections, in which the Besoin d'Europe coalition, which includes Macron's Renaissance party, lost to the ultra-right National Association, the head of state announced the dissolution of the lower house of parliament — the National Assembly — and the holding of early parliamentary elections.

According to their results, the opposition received more seats in the lower house than the union of the ruling parties, while no political force received the necessary majority of votes. There was a split between the Parliament and the government. In 2024 alone, four governments changed in France.

Bayrou is the sixth prime minister appointed after Macron came to power for his first term in 2017. The French president supported the holding of a vote of confidence in his government, RBC reminds.