Debt of €3.6 trillion: can the State requisition your savings?

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https://cryptoast.fr/france-etat-peut-il-requisitionner-epargne-francais-eponger-dette/

French public debt recently exceeded 3.6 trillion euros, or 119% of GDP. It has increased by more than 60 billion euros in a single quarter, while the 2027 budget is currently being examined in Parliament.

In this context, the fear of a direct drain on French accounts regularly comes up on social networks. However, the State cannot take the savings of individuals to repay its debt: article 17 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen only authorizes the deprivation of property in cases of public necessity established by law, and in exchange for just and prior compensation.

The 2027 draft budget has, however, shown that certain sums remain within reach. Its article 23 provided for an exceptional levy of 17% on funds present in inactive accounts, unclaimed passbooks and life insurance contracts which end up at the Caisse des Dépôts. Around 8.1 billion euros were affected by the end of 2025, for an expected revenue of 1.4 billion euros.

The holders or heirs who subsequently came forward were to be reimbursed with interest. The deputies deleted the article on November 2, but the Senate, which in turn examines the budget from November 23, could reintroduce it.

If the State cannot confiscate savings, the law allows it to block them temporarily. Since the Sapin 2 law of 2016, article L631-2-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code authorizes the High Financial Stability Council (HCSF), chaired by the Minister of the Economy, to limit redemptions, arbitrages and advances on life insurance contracts in the event of a “serious and serious threat” to the financial system.

These measures are valid for 3 months, renewable without being able to exceed 6 consecutive months for redemptions. Despite its existence, the system was never activated, neither during the health crisis of 2020, nor during the rise in rates in 2022.

On the banking side, the ACPR, the sector watchdog, can limit certain operations, including withdrawals, in an establishment in serious difficulty to avoid a bank panic. This power targets a specific bank, not all of the country's accounts. In the event of bankruptcy, deposits remain guaranteed up to €100,000 per person and per bank (FGDR), and life insurance up to €70,000 per insured and per insurer (FGAP).

Machine-translated from French