- French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the government had lowered its forecast for 2024 GDP growth to 1% from 1.4% as war in Ukraine and Gaza and a slowdown at top trading partners Germany and China darkened the outlook.
- In an interview with French television TF1, he also said that state spending would be cut by 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) across all departments and agencies.
- “It is a growth forecast that remains positive, but takes into account the new geopolitical context,” Le Maire said, citing the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, problems with maritime transport in the Red Sea, and the economic slowdown in China and Germany.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/french-finance-minister-cut-2024-growth-forecast-media-2024-02-18/
