French public debt soared last year to its highest levels since shortly after World War II due to the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, the statistics office said on Friday.

France’s public debt in 2020 was equal to 115.7 per cent of annual GDP and the budget deficit amounted to 9.2 per cent of GDP, “the highest level since 1949”, statistics office Insee said.

In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, French government debt was 97.6 per cent of GDP and the budget deficit 3.1 per cent.

The government had expected even worse figures, with a deficit of 11.3 per cent and debt of around 120 per cent.

The government had expected even worse figures

The COVID-19 pandemic has battered the French economy, which contracted 8.2 per cent in 2020, forcing the government to provide massive support to business to avoid bankruptcies and mass job cuts.

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