France faces critical debt interest crisis, warns Cour des comptes president

Amélie de Montchalin, the first president of the Cour des comptes, has issued a warning regarding the trajectory of French public finances. She stated that France is facing “the most important choice of the Fifth Republic” due to the rising burden of debt interest payments.

Estimates suggest that interest charges could reach between 80 billion and 100 billion euros. For comparison, this exceeds the budget of the Ministry of National Education and is significantly higher than the budgets for the Armed Forces or the Ministry of Justice. De Montchalin noted that public debt reached unprecedented levels in 2025, surpassing the peaks seen during the 2020 health crisis, leaving France in a unique position within Europe.

Essayist Alain Minc supported these warnings, describing the situation as being “on the brink of a serious derailment.” Minc criticized proposed savings measures from the National Rally (RN) as insufficient, suggesting that structural reforms regarding retirement age, working hours, and fiscal equity are necessary to address the looming financial asphyxiation.