France Raises 2022 Growth Forecast on Consumption, New Jobs

(Bloomberg) -- French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire raised this year’s economic-growth forecast to 2.7% from 2.5% as consumption and corporate investment hold up, and job creation remains dynamic.

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Le Maire said Wednesday in an interview with France’s CNews television that he expected inflation to start slowing next year, probably before the summer.

“France isn’t entering a recession,” Le Maire said. “France has had a good year in 2022.”

The boost to this year’s forecast comes after the government on Tuesday cut its projection for gross domestic product in 2023, citing disruption to businesses from volatile energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the impact on households of stronger inflation and difficulties for France’s main trading partners.

The economy is now expected to expand only 1% next year instead of the 1.4% it forecast in July.

“We’re in a situation of very high inflation -- this will last until the beginning of 2023,” Le Maire told CNews. “We anticipate that afterwards this will be absorbed and that inflation will decrease during the course of the year.”

(Adds comments from French finance minister.)

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