(Bloomberg) — The Bank of France cut its domestic growth outlook just days after President Emmanuel Macron named the country’s fourth prime minister in a year, with the central bank citing the political upheaval as a drag on household and business confidence.
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The central bank now expects only a 0.9% expansion in 2025 instead of 1.2% it predicted in September. Bank officials also cut its 2026 forecast by 0.2 points to 1.3%.
France’s deteriorating outlook adds to signals of the economic damage from a political crisis that began with snap elections in June and escalated this month to the collapse of the government and its plans to plug widening holes in public finances.
“Domestic demand will be affected not only by fiscal consolidation measures, but also by the context of uncertainty surrounding them,” the bank said. “Household spending will only accelerate moderately after being lackluster in 2024 and the contribution from investment will remain negative.”
Macron appointed centrist Francois Bayrou as prime minister on Friday to pick up the pieces of the 2025 budget plan and try to form a government that can bridge bitter divides at the National Assembly.
The new premier met with opposition parties for talks on Monday, including leftists and far-right leader Marine Le Pen who voted together to evict the previous administration from office. Le Pen said after the meetings that she was satisfied with the initial discussions, while Socialists said they were open to compromise.
Still, there is no clear path forward for Bayrou as he is far short of a majority in the fractured National Assembly to push through unpopular budget cuts that are required to rebuild investor confidence and pare a rising debt burden. In a sign of the country’s deteriorating fiscal situation, Moody’s Ratings downgraded France over the weekend in an unscheduled decision.
In an interview with Le Figaro late Monday, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said political parties must overcome their personal interests to tackle France’s rising debt problem.
“If our country remained in denial on the budget because of the political discord, it risks gradual economic and European breakdown.”
The central bank’s forecasts were finalized before the government collapse and the dismissal of a budget that was designed to bring the deficit to 5% of economic output next year from an estimated 6.1% in 2024. The country will rely on emergency legislation currently being debated in parliament to continue to function with taxes remaining unchanged and minimal spending from Jan. 1.
