Yellow vests’ protests slow French economic growth to nearly zero
The Bank of France forecast that the country will see growth of only 0.2% in the quarter from the previous three months
Paris — The anti-government protests convulsing France will slow growth to close to a standstill in the final quarter, the central bank said on Monday, complicating President Emmanuel Macron's task of finding concessions to placate the "yellow vest" movement. On Monday, the Bank of France forecast the eurozone's number two economy would eke out growth of only 0.2% in the quarter from the previous three months, down from 0.4% in a previous estimate. Finance minister Bruno Le Maire declined to give an estimate for 2018 growth but forecast the nationwide tumult would trim 0.1% percent of a point off of national output. His deputy projected growth would round out "closer to 1.5%". The slow-down will be worrisome for Macron, who faces huge pressure on the streets to make further cuts to taxes and social security costs to bolster household spending power, while keeping France's budget deficit below a EU cap. The slowdown is a "reality for our businessmen, entrepreneurs, it's the reality f...
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