France Detects €20 Billion in Fraud for 2024, Aims to Double by 2029

The government highlights progress in tackling fiscal, social, and public aid fraud as part of efforts to reduce the deficit without raising taxes or cutting essential services.

The French government identified €20 billion in fraud across fiscal, social, customs, and public aid categories in 2024, recovering €13 billion of this amount.
Fraud detection has significantly improved, with fiscal fraud alone accounting for €16.7 billion, of which €11.4 billion was recouped by the state.
Officials aim to detect €40 billion in fraud annually by 2029, supported by enhanced tax oversight, a proposed law to suspend public aid under suspicion of fraud, and criminal penalties for organized financial crimes.
The government plans to introduce electronic invoicing for businesses in 2026 to combat VAT fraud and create a unified database of fraudulent bank account details to prevent identity theft.
Efforts to combat fraud are part of broader fiscal goals to reduce France's public deficit to 5.4% of GDP in 2025, down from approximately 6% in 2024.