Bruno Alessi regularly donates €50 a month to French state debt

France's public debt has risen above €3.5 trillion, prompting a handful of citizens to make voluntary contributions directly to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The practice, authorised since 2006, allows individuals to donate without tax benefits, and each donation is recorded in the Official Journal.

Eight donors gave a total of €1,223 between October and December 2025. The most regular contributor is Bruno Alessi, a former military reservist now working in the aerospace sector in Toulouse. After an initial €150 cheque at the end of 2024, he received a dedicated bank account from the ministry and has been paying €50 each month since February 2025, amounting to €550 by early December 2025. The scheme remains symbolic, with total private contributions amounting to only a few thousand euros against the nation's massive debt burden.