This was also why Prussia had been the first to withdraw from the war—if it kept fighting, the country would go bankrupt.
In truth, Prussia had only held on until now by relying entirely on funding provided by the United Kingdom.
Seeing the Crown Prince turn the page, Brienne immediately said,
"Your Highness, total expenditure for the first ten months of this year was 650 million francs, with full-year expenditure projected at 800 million francs. In other words, there will be a deficit of 30 million francs."
Since Joseph had taken the reins, France had recorded fiscal surpluses for two consecutive years. Last year's surplus had even reached 100 million francs.
This year, under the enormous drain of war, the state had once again fallen into a situation where expenditures exceeded revenue.
Joseph looked at the total national debt listed at the bottom of the report: 1.87 billion francs.
He smiled unconcernedly and said to Brienne, "Our domestic production has not suffered serious disruption, while the Iberia-Apennine Common Market can bring greater sales to our factories. I believe that once the war ends, our balance of revenue and expenditure will quickly turn around."
What he did not say was that France would most likely win this war. At that time, it would receive hefty War Reparations, and coupled with all sorts of wartime gains, fiscal revenue would certainly rise sharply.
He had estimated it while in the Southern Netherlands: the War Reparations the Netherlands owed the Flemish Republic alone, once transferred to France through various Channels, could reduce France's Government Bonds by nearly 200 million francs!
Moreover, this money would not run into the usual problem with War Reparations—where the defeated country paid a small portion, then began refusing to pay any more.
About 400 million of France's Government Bonds