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France’s public debt jumps to $2.3 trillion

France's economy is one of the slowest-growing on the planet.

France's public debt has jumped to more than $2.3 trillion, driven higher partly by central state spending, the state statistics agency Insee has said. 

The debt burden rose $57.2 billion in the first quarter to $2.335 trillion or 97.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). That compares with 95.6% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2014, Insee said.

Over the period, the central state's debt rose 38.9 billion euros to 1.86 trillion euros or about 87.1% of GDP.

Since 1990, France’s GDP has grown more slowly than that of any other wealthy nation but Italy. The French economy, in fact, is one of the slowest-growing on the planet. Its manufacturing output today is lower than it was in 1990.

President Francois Hollande pledged to lower unemployment when elected in 2012. Instead, the number of people out of work has reached record highs under his tenure.

Hollande has also promised not to seek re-election in 2017 should he fail to lower the unemployment rate before the end of his term.

HB/HB


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