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Paris (AFP) – The governor of the Banque de France François Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday that he expected growth “probably weakly positive” in 2023, following a year 2022 where it should reach 2.6%.
“It will not be 2.6%” next year, he warned on Franceinfo radio, but “probably weakly positive growth”.
“I can’t rule out a recession, but that’s not our central scenario,” added the head of the Banque de France, who is due to unveil his projections until 2025 next week.
In its latest estimate, the institution was counting on growth of between -0.5 and 0.8% of GDP in 2023, a more pessimistic estimate than that of the government, which is hoping for 1% growth.
Benchmark international forecasters, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) anticipates GDP growth of 0.6% and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects 0.7% in 2023.
“We are approaching a tighter turn with 2023”, commented François Villeroy de Galhau on Friday.
But “what we are excluding today is a hard landing for the French and European economy, given the signs of good resistance” of growth in France, which should stand at 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the latest Banque de France business survey published on Thursday.
After 2023, “we should return to a more normal course with progressively less inflation and more growth”, estimated the governor.
© 2022 AFP
