France’s massive income injection in 2019 should not be overlooked
The consensus of forecasters is marked by pessimism, but growth forecasts for France should not overlook: The acceleration in wages due to companies’ hiring difficulties and the incentive to pay slightly higher wages; The increase in the fiscal deficit, including, in particular, a 0.5 percentage point of GDP increase in transfer payments to households; The fall in oil prices from 80 to 60 dollars per barrel, which equates to an increase in income of 1 percentage point of GDP. This will provide a strong boost to demand. So even though the propensity to import this additional demand in France is high, given the supply-side problems that beset the French economy, there will still be a significant boost to French growth (0.75 percentage point), which is likely to be higher in 2019 than in 2018.