In charts: How one of the world's biggest economies got trapped by debt

France's parliament begins debate on the 2027 budget Tuesday as high deficits, rising debt and student protests sharpen the political cost of fiscal consolidation. The euro zone's second-biggest economy is barreling toward a debt crisis, and risks dragging the continent down with it, unless it sustainably brings down its national deficit, according to many market watchers. Even as thousands take to the streets to protest years of underfunding in public services, particularly education, France has run one of Europe's highest deficit-to-GDP ratios for nearly a decade under President Emmanuel Macron.