The Bank of France. ©PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP or licensorsThe French economy is expected to avoid a recession at the end of 2022, according to forecasts from the Bank of France on Thursday.
France’s national bank has forecast that the economy will grow by an anemic 0.1% in the final four months of this year, avoiding a recession, or two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.
Hit hard by soaring energy prices and cost-of-living crisis, France’s GDP fell by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2022. There is an equally bleak picture across Europe, with several leading economies they suffer a severe blow.
GDP, or gross domestic product, is the total value of goods and services produced within an economy.
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The Bank of France said the figures were “good news”, demonstrating the resilience of French companies.
Services and construction did better than expected in November and there was an “increase in activity,” said Olivier Garnier, the French bank’s general statistics director.
“Overall, there are no declines in activity at the end of the year,” he added.
GDP is expected to grow by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, confirming the previous forecast of a “very slight increase”.
“Of course, it is still marked by uncertainty”, continued Garnier, but “we have a business that is holding up well, indeed a little better than expected”.
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