The Maastricht debt criterion governing a country’s eligibility for joining the single currency was that the gross debt to GDP ratio was to be no higher than 60pc, or at least converging on 60pc “at a satisfactory pace”.  Meanwhile, Gordon Brown set himself a tougher test. One of his fiscal rules said that the net debt ratio should be no higher than 40pc. Clearly, on either of these tests both countries have a significant debt problem.  The French situation is worse, although not by a country mile.  It is interesting to reflect on how the two countries got into their current positions. France has had a higher debt ratio than the UK for some time. As the Blair/Brown era began in the UK, and shortly afterwards the euro era began, France’s net debt ratio was about 50pc, whereas the UK’s was about 40pc.  The French ratio then began a pretty relentless climb, whereas the UK’s ratio plunged under the twin influences of New Labour’s early fiscal restraint and a strongly growing economy. It reached a low point of just over 31pc in 2001, some 20pc below the French figure.  This sort of gap was maintained until the financial crash of 2007/8 sent the economies of the world into a tailspin. The UK suffered particularly heavily. In 2009, the UK government’s budget deficit was very nearly 11pc of GDP, its highest ever peacetime level, whereas the French equivalent was only just over 7pc.  In both countries the deficit has since been reduced but in 2014 the UK’s was still higher – about 5pc compared to France’s 4pc. This year, the UK’s deficit should be lower than the French one – although not by very much.  This is hardly a tale of British fiscal probity versus French laxity. So why the gathering alarm about the French situation and the comparative insouciance about the UK’s? And how has the UK’s debt position deteriorated less than France’s despite a higher deficit?  As we keep hearing, “it’s the economy, stupid”. For all the hullabaloo about fiscal austerity in the UK, a good portion of the reduction in our deficit has been due simply to the growth of the economy. Something similar has happened in France but the scale of their recovery has been much more modest.  Since 2008, the UK economy has grown by 4.5pc whereas the French economy has grown by only 2.2pc. This not only explains why the UK’s deficit has come down much faster but it also explains why its debt to GDP ratio has performed better than the French one, despite the UK running larger deficits.  There is another wrinkle. Not only has the UK’s real growth rate been higher than France’s but it has also experienced slightly higher inflation. Now this is not always a good thing, of course, but inflation does have the virtue, other things equal, of reducing the government’s debt ratio.  Of course, the reasons for the UK’s better economic performance are varied and complex. Despite some recent efforts at reform, the French economy is more sclerotic than the UK’s. Accordingly, there is probably now a natural tendency towards French under-performance in almost all weathers. But in addition, the UK has operated its own monetary policy whereas France, subsumed within the euro, has not been able to.  Looking forward, prospects for the public finances depend largely upon what happens to the economy. As things stand, it looks as though the UK will continue to outgrow France, and probably by a considerable margin.  What’s more, although the UK inflation rate was reported as zero last week, before long it will move up gradually towards the 2pc target. In France, the rate is likely to hover close to zero, dragged down by the huge weight of excess capacity. So the gap in GDP growth measured in money terms will be greater than the gap measured in real terms.  Mr Hollande has also faced worries over the Greece crisis  Not only will this mean that the UK’s deficit will fall more rapidly than the French one but also that the ratio of debt to GDP will perform much better too.  • Britain's bulging economy surges past France  Indeed, it looks as though our debt to GDP ratio will fall this year. Phew! Over the next few years it will continue to decline – slowly but relentlessly. In France, by contrast, the ratio is still rising. And without either a burst of recession-inducing austerity or a surge in economic growth, neither of which looks likely, the ratio looks set to continue climbing.  This lesson has applicability more generally. I am sure that many readers are heartily sick of the on/off Greek crisis. That’s why I have decided to give you time off this week.  Nevertheless, what happens to Greece remains vital to the future of Europe. The Franco-British experience shows what should have been obvious from umpteen other episodes around the world: you cannot cut your way to prosperity.  To oblige Greece to engage in more austerity in current conditions is sheer madness. What it needs is more aggregate demand. Given this, the deficit will turn into surplus and the debt to GDP ratio will fall.  Does anyone believe that the deal that seems to have been done to keep Greece in the euro will do anything to boost the Greek economy? If only the German economic establishment had read and understood Keynes.  If it had accepted his ideas, Europe might have been spared his message being rammed home, not by words, but by bitter experience.  - Roger Bootle is executive chairman of Capital Economics
Francois Hollande&rsquo;s French administration has struggled to cope with a   sluggish economy and uncertainty in the eurozone