The purchasing manager’s index (PMI) of France’s manufacturing sector scored 44.5 points, down from the 44.9 predicted by analysts, and from 44.6 in September. (A PMI over 50 indicates growth, while a PMI below 50 indicates a contraction.) This occurred on the eve of the anticipated verdict by Moody’s on the French debt rating, and in the midst of the debate in the National Assembly on the €60 billion effort, envisaged by the government in its draft budget for 2025, that would be required in order to bring the public deficit down to 5% of GDP, and bring the “colossal” debt under control. France has the largest debt of the 19 member-states in the Eurozone—€3.2 trillion—followed by Italy (€2.9 trillion) and Germany (€2.4 trillion).
A contraction of the economy will increase the debt/GDP ratio, and a reduction of Moody’s debt rating was feared. Moody’s currently rates France “Aa2,” one notch above the two other major agencies, Fitch and S&P ("AA−",) and could align with them despite a “stable” outlook. Although the national debt of those countries, as well as that of the U.S.A., is a source of concern, the emphasis only on the national debt, as the IMF and the EU are doing, and not on the much larger debt of the private sector, as well as the bankrupt financial system, reflects the oligarchical intention to loot the taxpayers, services and the productive sector, to sustain their system.
