France’s Public Debt Tops $4 Trillion in Historic High

France’s public debt has climbed above $4 trillion, reaching a new record at the end of the second quarter, according to figures released by the French statistics agency on Tuesday.

The data put public debt at 119% of gross domestic product, marking a further rise in the country’s debt burden.

The dollar total and the debt-to-GDP ratio offer different measures of that burden. While the total shows the scale of outstanding debt, the ratio places it in relation to the size of France’s economy.

The latest figures establish a fresh peak for French public debt. The brief release did not provide a breakdown of the factors behind the increase or a comparison with the previous quarter.