French public debt dips in third quarter

France's public debt dipped by 0.9 percentage points over the third quarter to stand at 1.69 trillion euros ($2.2 trillion) or 85.3 percent of grosss domestic product, the INSEE national statistics institute said Wednesday. The government expects that the public debt -- which includes that of the central, regional and local governments plus the social security system -- to end the year at 84.9 percent of GDP this year, up from 82.3 percent in 2010. It forecasts the public debt to jump to 88.3 percent in 2012, then begin to start decreasing gradually. Like numerous other EU nations France has failed to meet the Maastricht Treaty's criteria to keep its budget deficit below 3.0 percent of GDP and public debt at 60 percent of GDP.