Report
Patrick Artus

What is holding back French growth?

France’s growth ought to be strong: Demand is boosted by subdued inflation, low interest rates, the increase in the fiscal deficit and high corporate profitability; S upply of goods and services is boosted by improving cost competitiveness, corporate tax cuts and the rise in the participation rate. Yet even when one takes into account one-off factors (the strikes), France’s growth was quite weak in 2019 under the effect of: The weakness of global trade and exports (shaving 0.6 percentage point off growth); The rise in the household savings rate (0.6 percentage point); The weakness of housing investment (0.1 percentage point), which, altogether, reduced year-on-year growth by 1.3 percentage points. Elsewhere: Corporate investment is solid; Inventories slipped only in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Provider
Natixis
Natixis

Based across the world’s leading financial centers, Natixis CIB Research offers an integrated view of the markets. The team provides support to inform Natixis clients’ investment and hedging decisions across all asset classes.

 

Analysts
Patrick Artus

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