French Q2 public debt jumps to 91 pct of GDP

The French public debt widened by 43.2 billion euros (55.83 billion U.S. dollars), hitting 91 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of the year, official data showed on Friday. According to Insee statistics bureau, France reported a total of 1.83 trillion euros of debt at the end of June, pulling the debt ratio to the GDP up by 1.7 percentage points from first quarter. Second quarter's rise stemmed mainly from 51.3 billion euros growth in the national government's debt over the period while cost of social security funds declined by 8.2 billion euros, it said. Net debt of the French government amounted to 1.61 trillion euros, or about 80.3 percent of the GDP compared to 79.4 percent in the previous three months. Presenting 2013 draft budget to the National Assembly's finance committee, Economy Minister Pierre Moscovici warned that French public debt "reached absolutely critical threshold that threatens growth." The government sees public debt to account 91.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2013. (1 euro = 1.292 U.S.dollar)