France's economy returned to growth in the third quarter of this year, expanding by 0.3 percent, after having earlier stalled, the national statistics agency said on Friday.
France’s Socialist administration continues to shell out more on social spending than any other government, according to a report published on Thursday by the OECD. But how long it will it continue to do so.
The President of the EU commission made it clear on Wednesday what he thinks France could do to boost its economy, as new figures show the country is officially in recession. Economists told The Local, however, that it's Europe that needs to act.
There was more bad news for France on the financial front on Wednesday when new figures confirmed the country had officially entered a recession with GDP contracting by 0.2 percent for the first quarter of 2013 - the second consecutive drop.
France announced a plan on Wednesday to bring its public deficit below the EU limit of 3.0 percent of GDP by 2014, one year later than expected. The project involves higher taxes, and finding savings in France's extensive social security system.
France's public deficit would probably amount to 3.7 percent of national output this year, President François Hollande admitted on Tuesday, publicly renouncing his government's goal of coming in below the EU limit of three percent.
French President Francois Hollande said France's growth forecast for 2013 could be reviewed in coming days as the country's accounting court warned government targets for the year had "little chance" of being achieved.
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Budget minister Valérie Pécresse told parliament on Tuesday that the French budget deficit for 2011 would "probably be less than 5.5 percent."</span></p>
