As the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant once again casts a cloud of uncertainty, the latest economic report from the Bank of France, published this Tuesday, provides reassuring elements.
In the meantime, the French economy is withstanding the Omicron wave.
According to a survey conducted between December 20 and January 6, 2022 – following government announcements to counter the fifth wave of Covid – activity continued to grow in December and would be stable in January.
“The GDP thus surpassed its pre-crisis level by 0.75 points in December. And in the fourth quarter, it grew by 0.6%. This is consistent with our growth forecast of 6.7% in 2021,” stated Olivier Garnier, Director General of Statistics, Studies, and International Affairs of the monetary institution, during a press briefing. As for the stability of activity in January, “it is compatible with our central scenario, which is a growth of 3.6% this year,” he added. In the current health context, these results are surrounded by “greater uncertainty than in normal times,” Olivier Garnier admitted.
At this stage, the monetary institution maintains its scenario of inflation gradually declining by the end of the year, below 2%, while pointing out numerous uncertainties.
