The Debt Forgiveness Fantasy: What Jean Luc Melenchon's Plan Reveals About France's Economic Woes French presidential candidate Jean Luc Melenchon has proposed a radical solution to his country's massive national debt: simply cancel it.
This idea, which involves having the central bank cancel its holdings of French debt, raises fundamental questions about France's financial management and its place in the European Union.
France's public debt now tops 116% of GDP, surpassing even the United States' ratio when measured by publicly held debt.