FRANCE'S FINANCES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 4, 6 January 1922, Page 6

FRANCE'S FINANCES.

THE NATIONAL DEBT. "** In the Estimates for the general French Budget for 1922 the figures of the French National Debt are given in detail. The internal debt amounts altogether to 229,055,000,000f, whi-'i sum, subdivided, shows 100,041,000,000f for the perpetual debt, 38,571.000.000f for the redeemable debt at time, and 90,443,000,000f floating debt. The external debt of France comes to 35,28(1,000, OOOf, including 6,490,000,000f under the head of commercial debt. The sum of 13,511,000,000f is stated as a political debt towards Great Britain and 15,285,OOO.OOOf are owing to the United States. The total under the head of public debt therefore reaches in round figureg 264,----500,000,000f. If the credits owing to the French State by various foreign nations, amounting to 14,000,0Q0,006f, be deducted from the above total, the result will be in round, numbers 250,000,----000,000f. But if the State guarantees and the money advances for the reconstruction of the devastated regions, war pensions, etc., be added, a much higher figure of State liability would naturally be reached. But Germany is bound to reimburse part of this latter outlay.