The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday hailed the “exceptional resilience (…)” of French companies and employees, a few minutes after the announcement by INSEE of a 2.6% growth in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of France in 2022.
This figure “testifies to the strong rebound of our economy after the shock of the Covid and its resilience in the face of the energy crisis”, rejoiced the number two of the government, while Bercy initially counted on an annual growth of 2.7% (against a forecast of 2.5% for the National Institute of Statistics (Insee)).
“We will also have positive growth” in 2023, projected Bruno Le Maire. In its latest forecasts, the government expects growth of 1%, an anticipation significantly higher than those of the Banque de France (0.3%) or the International Monetary Fund (0.7%).
In the fourth quarter, GDP growth only reached 0.1% compared to 0.5% in the spring and 0.2% in the summer of 2022, an “expected slowdown with the persistence of strong uncertainties in the economy” such as inflation or the war in Ukraine, comments the Ministry of Economy.
The fall in household consumption of goods and services (-0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022) “is offset by dynamic business investment (+1.2% in the fourth quarter, +3.5% over the year whole) and an improvement in foreign trade “(+0.5% in the fourth quarter but -0.7% over the year), Bercy continues to affirm.
Finally, “production in industry fell slightly (-0.5%)”, notes the ministry, “but we are far from the -10% mentioned by some”, he concludes.