The Court of Auditors suggests that the Caisse des Dépôts sell certain stakes

Selling stakes in the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) which do not correspond to the State's shareholder strategy, focused on resilience and social and territorial cohesion, could help to restore public finances, estimates the Court of Auditors. During the period 2015-2025, the contribution of subsidiaries and participations to the net profit of the CDC represented 22.3 billion euros in total, or 64% of the group's results, notes the report of the Court of Auditors, published Monday.

Among these participations, some do not correspond to the State shareholder doctrine, which favors resilience and promotes “positive societal impact by encouraging local development and territorial cohesion”. The Court of Auditors concludes that a more in-depth strategic review of the CDC portfolio “would be worth carrying out” beyond the annual reviews, so as to “refocus the current portfolio and significantly resize it”. This would involve reselling these stakes and part of the proceeds from this refocusing could go back to the State through exceptional payments, to contribute to the recovery of public finances, indicated the Court of Auditors.

The Caisse des Dépôts is the financial arm of the State responsible for supporting its economic and industrial policy by investing in businesses and financing local authorities and major works. In particular, it manages the outstanding Livret A and Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet (LDDS), which are used to finance the construction of social housing. The balance sheet of the CDC savings fund amounted to 453 billion euros at the end of 2025 for a net profit of 2.4 billion. The CDC Savings Fund, however, is increasingly invested in projects far from social housing, its initial mission, according to its annual report published in May.