assets and liabilities
Left: what the City owns. Right: how it is financed (equity + debts + provisions).
Assets, in detail
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.
Who does Paris borrow from?
Financial debt breaks down into bank loans, bonds (capital markets) and structured loans.
Breakdown by rate type
Average outstanding maturity
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.
Trajectory 2019–2024
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 2024 (vs 0% in 2016). The ratio is conventionally considered safe below 40%.
Off-balance-sheet commitments
Primarily loan guarantees granted to social housing landlords: Paris repays in their place only if they default.
Across 9,960 guaranteed loans spread over 109 beneficiaries (social housing landlords, SEM developers, non-profit operators).
Main beneficiaries
↳ Click a beneficiary to see its guaranteed loans
Where are the guaranteed loans?
↳ Click a district to see the biggest guaranteed loans on its territory.
Non-localised · 3.19 €B (26 %) — guaranteed loans without a street-level address (umbrella guarantees to a beneficiary, non-profit sureties, SEM development commitments).
CDC is the main lender (79% of outstanding guarantees), continuing the Livret A-based social housing finance model.
Trajectory 2016–2024: €9.22bn → €12.28bn (+33%).
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 safeguards
The four balance rules a local authority must observe to remain solvent.
Operating section voted in balance
Operating revenue must cover operating spending. Impossible to borrow to pay staff or recurring grants.
Article L.1612-4 CGCTBorrowing finances only capital investment
No debt to pay day-to-day costs. Debt builds schools, swimming pools, housing — assets that serve for a long time.
Article L.1612-4 CGCTDebt principal repaid from own resources
Each year, loan principal repayments must come from savings, not from new borrowing.
Article L.1612-4 CGCT · circulaire DGCLThe budget must be sincere
Revenue is not overstated, spending is not understated. Monitored by the regional chamber of accounts.
Loi de programmation des finances publiques 2023-2027