PARIS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The French government has cut its 2026 economic growth forecast to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent previously, the country's Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure said Friday.
Lescure announced the forecast at a press conference on the government's updated macroeconomic outlook, adding that the government expects the economy to grow 1 percent in 2027.
The government also expects inflation to reach 2.1 percent in 2026 and 1.8 percent in 2027, Lescure said.
It was the government's third downward revision to its 2026 growth forecast this year. It lowered the forecast to 0.9 percent from 1 percent in April, before cutting it again to 0.7 percent in July.
Overall, "we have therefore halved the growth estimates for this year," Lescure said, noting that against this backdrop, the target of limiting the budget deficit to 5 percent of GDP in 2026 "is no longer an option." "France will have a deficit above 5 percent in 2026," he added.
The government's new forecast remains slightly higher than the latest estimate from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), which lowered its forecast to 0.4 percent from 0.7 percent in its latest economic outlook report released Thursday.
Compared with its neighboring countries, France's economy is lagging behind, mainly due to a sharp downturn in public works activities linked to the municipal election cycle, the impact of heatwaves, a weaker labor market and less favorable fiscal stimulus measures, Insee said. ■