French economists and public auditors alike breathed a sigh of relief as the national statistics agency INSEE on Tuesday published an annual report showing that the country’s 2022 budget deficit dipped below 5% of GDP. Public debt also slightly decreased. Despite these hopeful figures, France still remains one of the most-indebted countries in the EU.
Pointing to France’s better-than-expected post-pandemic economic performance – thanks to which GDP showed an increase of 2.6% year-on-year in 2022 – Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire congratulated the French economy on bringing the budget deficit down to 4.7%. The government had previously set the target to 5% of GDP.
