The economic uncertainties – inflation, energy market, evolution of the Ukrainian conflict -, motivate this revival of savings.
This should have been a powerful driver of the recovery this year. Between 2020 and 2021, during the various waves of health restrictions, the French have set aside around 170 billion euros in addition to their usual savings, according to estimates by the Banque de France. Oversaving built up on a nice reverse scissor effect: while household incomes were preserved throughout these months of health crisis, thanks to public aid, their consumption plunged due to business closures, travel restrictions, etc.
As the economic situation normalized, the woolen stockings should logically have gradually emptied and irrigated the economy through consumption, but also through targeted investments in growing companies. Economists were hoping for a massive effect on activity. 170 billion represents a colossal sum for France, around 7% of gross domestic product (GDP). The mechanism worked at full capacity in the fall of 2021…