Expected by forecasts to be +0.1%, the third quarter disappoints again, and the country is very close to recession. Gross domestic product had already fallen by 0.2% in the first quarter, and stagnated in the second. INSEE announced this Friday morning a decline of 0.1% in GDP in the third quarter after stagnation in the second quarter and a drop of 0.2% at the start of the year.
Under these conditions, even the government's growth forecast of 1% for next year seems optimistic. And the lack of dynamism in growth over the first three quarters of 2026 risks being felt at the end of the year and next year.
In its initial copy, the government defended 43 billion new measures of effort, hammering out the objective of a deficit of 5% of GDP next year. The problem is that additional savings could further dampen growth and prevent the economy from recovering.
The contraction of the economy in the third quarter has indeed raised fears of a more pronounced slippage than expected in the public deficit in 2026, previously expected at 5.4% of GDP.
INSEE announced this Friday morning a decline of 0.1% in GDP in the third quarter after stagnation in the second quarter and a drop of 0.2% at the start of the year.
And the lack of dynamism in growth over the first three quarters of 2026 risks being felt at the end of the year and next year.
Gross domestic product had already fallen by 0.2% in the first quarter, and stagnated in the second.
The problem is that additional savings could further dampen growth and prevent the economy from recovering.