GDP growth could slightly accelerate in the third quarter, reaching +0.4%, according to the first estimate by the Bank of France. However, the rebound risks being insufficient to meet the government’s growth forecasts.
This rate is notably higher than that recorded during the first six months of the year, when GDP grew by 0.2% in both the first and second quarters, according to Insee.
This estimate, the first made by the Bank of France, remains subject to revision in the coming weeks. In any case, it is an encouraging sign for the government, which recently had to lower its growth ambitions for the entire year.
While the government has reaffirmed that it expects growth not to be “less” than 1.8% this year, to achieve this target, the activity would indeed need to continue at the same pace during the fourth quarter of 2018.
