The federal government debt reached 500.534 billion euros at the end of March, as reported by the Debt Agency. This marks the first time that federal debt has surpassed half a trillion euros. In terms of gross debt, the federal government debt has surpassed 500 billion euros before, but this gross amount includes factors such as investments. Looking only at debt, this is the first time the figure of 500 billion euros has been reached, according to Jean Deboutte, director of the Debt Agency.
Deboutte stated that the increase in debt is proceeding as planned. It is expected that by 2024, the federal government debt will increase by 21.5 billion euros. Last year, the increase was 27.4 billion euros. It is important to note that this information pertains solely to the federal government debt. When considering the debts of all governments in the country combined, the total has already exceeded 600 billion euros.
