The Banque de France confirms Thursday that it still forecasts 0.2% growth for French economic activity in the first quarter of 2024. This estimate is “not incompatible with a forecast of 1% growth over the year,” says director general of statistics Olivier Garnier.
In detail, growth in first quarter 2024 would be marked by a “divergence between industry and services,’ he adds. In April, activity would increase again in services, more slightly in industry and would deteriorate in the structural work of buildings, says the Banque of France's forecasts for the month of April. But in construction, “activity changed little in March, both in structural work and in finishing work,�” notes the central bank, and order books remain degraded in this sector over the quarter. The French economy is expected to grow 0.8% in 2024, in accordance with what the institution had indicated in its previous economic report published at the beginning of March.