The French public debt will be lower than expected this year but will still hit a record 83.2 percent of gross domestic product, the government said on Wednesday. The government had initially warned of a public debt, an accumulation of annual public deficits, that would come to 84 percent of GDP.

It said the public deficit, the shortfall of revenues to expenditures in one year, would also be better than had been feared, coming to 8.2 percent of output in 2010 rather than 8.5 percent. Both the debt and deficit figures exceed limits stipulated by the European Union, 60 percent of output for the debt and 3.0 percent for the deficit.

The revised figures reflect in part improved 2010 growth prospects, with momentum now expected to hit 1.4 percent rather than 0.75 percent. The administration, presenting a revised 2010 budget, said a government borrowing scheme proposed by President Nicholas Sarkozy would have only a limited impact on public finances. The loan, worth 35 billion euros (50 billion dollars) would widen the public deficit by 2.0 to 2.5 billion euros in 2010 and the years to come.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010