The good news is confirmed: France has reduced its public deficit to a lower level than expected, at 2.6% of its GDP in 2017. The combined deficit of the State, local governments, and Social Security thus decreased by 0.8 percentage points compared to 2016, when it reached 3.4% of GDP.
For the first time in ten years, France is not violating the famous “3% rule,” the threshold beyond which a country in the Union is subject to a procedure for excessive deficit.
And the improvement is expected to continue this year. The OECD forecasts 2.2% growth this year after 2% last year: this good level of activity will have a mechanical effect on tax revenues.
In conclusion, it is now a certainty: France will exit the excessive deficit procedure that had placed it under Brussels’ supervision since 2009.
