World Economy
0

French Growth Outlook Dims

French Growth Outlook Dims
French Growth Outlook Dims

French economic growth this year will fall short of the 1.5% economists say is the minimum needed to lower persistently high unemployment, the country’s central bank governor said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. This spells trouble for President Francois Hollande, who has staked his bid for re-election in 2017 on a promise to reduce joblessness, which remains stuck above 10%. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau’s prediction comes a day after Hollande’s government was forced to water down some of the pro-business labor reforms it hoped would encourage employers to hire staff. “We (the ECB) revised growth down to 1.4% for the whole of the eurozone, and France will be a bit below that,” Villeroy said on France Inter radio. Villeroy also sits on the European Central Bank’s governing council. Economists agree that given the large number of young people entering the job market, at least 1.5% growth is required to nibble away at the jobless total.

 

Financialtribune.com