Unsurprisingly, the French economy will suffer again.
While the government has decided to strengthen health restrictions on the territory to fight against the second wave of Covid-19 (half of the French departments are now affected by a curfew), the government anticipates a further decline in growth in the last trimestre.
“
After a very strong recovery in the 3rd quarter, the 4th quarter will be difficult: we expect a contraction of the GDP between September and December
”, affirms Bruno Le Maire in the columns of
Figaro
.
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In this context, the government is extending support measures to companies penalized by the curfew.
The overall cost of this support is now estimated at "
a little over 2 billion euros
".
“
It was planned.
We can hold out until the end of the year,
”repeated Bruno Le Maire on Europe 1 this Friday morning.
If the health situation requires extending aid, "
we will recharge the devices.
We will protect businesses and employees as long as the virus continues to circulate
”.
"
We can do it because the European Central Bank supports us
," he said.
In this gloomy climate, and while the confidence of French business leaders is plunging, the tenant of Bercy wanted to be resolutely optimistic.
"
There is one end of the tunnel
".
"
I tell you that there will be a strong rebound in the French economy in 2021 and that in 2022 we will be able to recover our economic development figure of 2019
", he said.
To the recurring question: "
who will pay at the end?"
"Bruno Le Maire replied that the time to repay the debt" will
not begin in 2021 or 2022. We will still be in the time of recovery.
Today we invest and we support the economy.
When we are out of the crisis, the time will come to repay the debt
”.
The minister reiterated that he excluded tax increases, betting on “
future
growth
” and “
control of public finances
”.