France's public debt rose to 119% of gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2026, Le Monde.fr reports. According to the newspaper, this is the highest level recorded since 1946.
The figure also exceeds the previous peak reached during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to boursorama.com. That earlier high had stood as the modern record until the latest quarterly data was published.
The rise in borrowing has drawn attention to who holds the debt. Le Figaro reports that Germany, Luxembourg and international institutions are among the main foreign holders of French government obligations. The scale of that foreign ownership matters because it shapes how exposed France is to shifts in investor confidence.
French commentators are also weighing the political timing. Le Point reports that one observer described the worst-case scenario as a financial crisis breaking out before the country's next presidential election. L'Opinion, meanwhile, examined why the debt is compounding, describing the dynamic as a snowball that has begun to accelerate.
The figures come with no full breakdown of the quarterly data available in the source material, and no government response was included in the reports cited here.
What to watch next: whether the debt ratio continues to climb in the third quarter, and how the presidential election calendar affects France's borrowing costs.
