Left: what the City owns. Right: how it is financed (equity + debts + provisions).
Breakdown of assets by major category: real estate, roads, equipment, participations, cash. SEMs and public offices have their own balance sheet (cf. social housing landlords).
Note: fixed assets represent almost all of the balance sheet (> 95%). They include buildings, equipment, roads, networks — valued at historical cost, not market value.
Financial debt breaks down into bank loans, bonds (capital markets) and structured loans.
Indicative ratios · Outstanding amounts per instrument come from the M57 balance sheet (open data). The fixed/floating split, average maturity, average rates and listed bond issuances are reconstructed from the Budget Orientation Report and public Paris IR releases — not published as open data at line-item resolution.
Financial debt, assets and equity across six fiscal years. Debt has grown faster than assets since 2020 (health crisis + capital investment).
Debt represents 24% of assets in 2021 (vs 19% in 2019). The ratio is conventionally considered safe below 40%.
Primarily loan guarantees granted to social housing landlords: Paris repays in their place only if they default.
Across 8 661 guaranteed loans spread over 105 beneficiaries (social housing landlords, SEM developers, non-profit operators).
↳ Click a beneficiary to see its guaranteed loans
↳ Click a district to see the biggest guaranteed loans on its territory.
Non-localised · 3,39 €B (30 %) — guaranteed loans without a street-level address (umbrella guarantees to a beneficiary, non-profit sureties, SEM development commitments).
CDC is the main lender (75% of outstanding guarantees), continuing the Livret A-based social housing finance model.
Trajectory 2019–2024: €10,15bn → €12,28bn (+21%).
One line = one loan guaranteed by the City of Paris. The capital outstanding at 31/12 represents off-balance-sheet exposure: Paris repays in place of the beneficiary only in the event of default. Mostly social-housing operator loans from the CDC, so the risk is rated low by credit-rating agencies.
The four balance rules a local authority must observe to remain solvent.
Operating revenue must cover operating spending. Impossible to borrow to pay staff or recurring grants.
Article L.1612-4 CGCTNo debt to pay day-to-day costs. Debt builds schools, swimming pools, housing — assets that serve for a long time.
Article L.1612-4 CGCTEach year, loan principal repayments must come from savings, not from new borrowing.
Article L.1612-4 CGCT · circulaire DGCLRevenue is not overstated, spending is not understated. Monitored by the regional chamber of accounts.
Loi de programmation des finances publiques 2023-2027Articles, investigations and profiles connected to the numbers on this page.
ExplanationOn 31 December 2024, the City of Paris booked €48 billion of total assets, of which €47Bn in tangible fixed assets. This figure is computed at amortised historical cost — market value would be considerably higher. Explanation of a structural gap, and what it means when reading the accounts.
InvestigationAs of 31 December 2024, the Ville de Paris had granted €12.28 billion in loan guarantees — an outstanding amount larger than its own financial debt (€10.7Bn). Concentrated 88% on social housing and 79% on the Caisse des Dépôts, this contingent commitment appears in no debt-reduction ratio. A reading of an off-balance-sheet aggregate rarely measured in public debate.
InvestigationSince 2013, the Ville de Paris has issued 8 public bonds totalling €4.85 billion — today 76% of its financial debt. Anatomy of each issue, the dramatic shift in rates (0.25% in 2020 → 3.38% in 2024), the two themed issues (COVID Social Bond, thermal-renovation Green Bond), and the wall of repayments looming in May 2028.