France to isolate COVID-linked debt in special structure - minister

The French government aims to hive off from the state balance sheet extra debt linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, lodging it in a special structure to pay it down gradually, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday.The government expects the public debt burden to surge to a record 121% of gross domestic product this year due to the crisis, up from just shy of 100% before the outbreak.