France should return to its pre-crisis level of activity in 2022. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, reiterated this objective this Thursday morning on BFM Business.
“We
will have to wait until at least 2022 to return to a level of activity comparable to 2019,
” he explained.
But the challenge remains immense: "
the crisis will be long, hard (...) It is a very proactive forecast.
We must be aware of it,
”admitted the Minister.
Read also: Growth is likely to fall again in the last quarter, warns Bruno Le Maire
Citing the strong rebound in activity after the first confinement, with GDP showing a rebound of 18.2% in the third quarter, Bruno Le Maire assured that the drivers of the French economy were "
solid
".
“
We have powerful economic springs.
I have confidence in the fundamentals of the French economy
”.
The pension reform is not abandoned
The Minister of the Economy has also assumed the debt policy of France which makes the level of debt soar to 120% of GDP.
“
We are getting into debt without any difficulty today and I am convinced that our strategy is the right one.
We are investing money to save our human and economic capital
, ”he said.
However, "
money is always valuable and getting into debt is never trivial,
" he said.
The repayment of this debt will pass through "
growth, responsibility and reform
", according to the minister.
“
We will grow with the stimulus plan, which is already working well.
Support measures will no doubt have to be completed.
We put money to invest.
Finally, structural reforms are needed, the first being that of pensions.
We haven't given up anything.
This is clearly the first project
, ”he warns.