La Poste became a public limited company in 2010. Although most of the Western European countries have fully privatised their postal service companies, public opinion in France is largely against such a move. A majority of French citizens fear that if La Poste becomes a private company, many post offices would close, rural areas would be neglected and stamps would be more expensive. Supporters of privatisation claim that it would help solving the debt (€5.8 billions in 2009) and contain the rise of prices.