Bank of France predicts GDP fall of -0.1%

THE Bank of France believes the French economy will have declined by 0.1% in the third quarter of 2012, highlighting the continued state of stagnation in the country.

Official figures have yet to be published by the statistics office, INSEE, but a spokesperson has said it expects to see zero growth in the third and fourth quarters.

Since the final quarter of 2011 there has been no growth in the French economy, and if it reaches the end of this year without any growth then such a period of stagnation will not have been experienced since World War Two.

These statistics are also a bad sign for François Hollande, and the French public, as he has based his calculations for the 2013 budget upon a growth level of 0.8%, so we may yet see even tighter fiscal measures.