France's public debt has ballooned to a record €3.4 trillion, official data showed on Thursday, September 25, piling pressure on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu as he confronts protests and political turmoil. Lecornu was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month to succeed François Bayrou, who was ousted by Parliament in a fight over his austerity budget after just nine months on the job.
Figures from the INSEE statistics agency show Lecornu, the former defense minister, now faces a debt that amounted to 115.6% of France's gross domestic product in the second quarter. The debt is up from €3.3 trillion in March, which was equivalent to 113.9% of GDP. Lecornu has yet to form a new government and must deliver a budget proposal to Parliament by mid-October.
Unions have announced fresh demonstrations for October 2 after hundreds of thousands of people protested across France last week over Macron's austerity plans. Lecornu, Macron's seventh head of government since 2017, has vowed a break from the past in a bid to defuse the political crisis.
He has tried to calm anger by promising to abolish life-long privileges for former prime ministers and Bayrou's plan to scrap two public holidays. Bayrou had proposed a series of measures he said would save €44 billion to curb France's high debt.