In France, they called the situation with the country's public debt "terrible".

Former French Prime Minister and presidential candidate Edouard Philippe said on July 5 that the situation with the national debt is "terrible," but it is "not so bad."

"Debt is terrible, but it's not that bad," he said during a speech at a rally, a video of which was published by the French television channel BFMTV.

Philippe also opposed opponents such as Marine Le Pen from the National Unification Party, French politician and first secretary of the Socialist Party of France Olivier Faure and French statesman and politician Jean-Luc Melenchon.

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According to the results of the first quarter of 2026, the French national debt updated the historical anti-record and for the first time in history surpassed the €3.5 trillion mark, according to a report published on June 25 by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research of France (Insee). According to Insee, the psychologically important milestone of 3.5 trillion euros has been passed for the first time in the entire observation period. In relation to GDP, the country's public debt amounted to 117.5%.

The newspaper Le Figaro reported on June 30 that the French presidential elections will be held in the spring of 2027. It was noted that the elections will be held in two rounds, with the second round taking place 12 days before the end of the term of office of the current French President Emmanuel Macron.