National Debt

The magnitude of French financial problems confronting the new Government was made evident by the publication of an expert report on on French indebtedness:

Internal Debt. The following figures represent paper francs:

1) Long term and perpetual debt: State rents, 110,526,000,000; capital of annuities, 10,885,000,000; credit national, bonds, 12,978,000,000; bonds of State railways, 277,000,000; capital and annuities of railroads, 8,119,000,000.

2) Bank of France advances to the Government, 23,600,000,000.

3) Debt with fixed maturity credit: National bonds 11,000,000,000; treasury bonds, 28,975,000,000.

4) Floating debt: treasury bonds, 2,557,000,000; national defense bonds, 5,848,000,000; miscellaneous, 5,253,000,000.

Total internal debt: 271,018,000,000 francs or, at present rate of exchange, about $15,500,000,000. The actual value of the internal debt in terms of dollars must, however, be placed at a higher figure. The lower the franc falls the less is the value of the debt; and as the franc is more likely to improve in future, the dollar value of the debt must be figured at from 20 to 25 billions.

External Debt. Figures here represent gold francs: .

1) Political debt to England, bonds and capitalized interest, 15,275,000,000 francs; Treasury advances, 15,194,000,000; interest due, 3,070,000,000.

2) Commercial debt to England, bonds held, 1,387,000,000; purchases of stocks, 207,000,000; loan of 1920, 450,000,000; loan of 1921, 418,000,000; municipal loans, 210,000,000; purchases of stocks, 2,110,000,000; Japanese loans, 177,000,000; various credits from Spain, 5,000,000; Argentina, 92,000,000; Holland, 115,000,000; Uruguay, 80,000,000.

Total external debt: 38,790,000,000 francs, or about $21,000,000,000.

The complexity and seriousness of the financial problem which the Government must face is perhaps realized when it is stated that it costs the French people 13,000,000,000 francs (more than half the French budgetary appropriations) to carry the internal debt. The external debt is not as yet being cared for; but were the Government to attempt to meet its interest obligations on foreign debts, the total charges on internal and external indebtedness would swamp the 23,000,000,000 franc budget for this year.