Both the American colonies and the French incurred in debt in order to finance their efforts in the Revolutionary War.
In the case of the colonies, the newly created states started off with a poor economic situation that lead to difficulties in the first administration. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed a series of radical policies to make sure the country achieved financial stability, but his ideas were heavily criticized.
In the case of France, the debt from the Revolutionary War added up to the preexisting debt from the Seven Years War. This created a grave financial crisis in France that would eventually culminate in the French Revolution.
