2013 France Budget Bill Will Be Introduced Sep 28 2012

World Economic outlook - 2013 France Budget Bill Will Be Introduced Sep 28 2012 :  The French government will unveil the 2013 budget bill to parliament on Sept. 28, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said in an interview Monday, adding that the government needs to find between 30 billion euros ($38.4 billion) and EUR35 billion in additional revenue from spending cuts.

How will France budget for 2013

World Economic outlook - How will France budget for 2013 : The French government will stick with its commitment to narrow the fiscal deficit to 3 percent of economic output next year, President Francois Hollande said, promising the most drastic budget cuts in 30 years.

Hollande, speaking in Paris to the state auditors today, said the 33 billion euros ($42 billion) of savings needed to hit the target will include 10 billion euros of spending cuts.

French GDP growth Q1 2012

World Economic outlook - French GDP growth Q1 2012 : France's national statistics office, reported this morning that in 2012 Q1, French gross domestic product (GDP) levelled off (0.0 %) after a small increase in Q4 2011 (+0.1 %).

Households’ consumption expenditure stuttered (+0.2 % after +0.1 %), while gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) decreased (–0.8 % after +1.3 %). Overall, total domestic demand (excluding inventory changes) boosted GDP by only 0.1 point of growth after 0.3 points in Q4.

Imports renewed with growth (+0.7 % after -1.4 % in Q4), while exports slowed down (+0.3 % after +1.1 %). Consequently, foreign trade balance contributed negatively to GDP growth (–0.1 point after +0.7 point).

In Q1, changes in inventories contributed positively to GDP growth : +0.1 point after -1.0 point in the end of 2011.

Impact Sarkozy plan to hike value added tax

World Economic outlook - Impact Sarkozy plan to hike value added tax : the months ahead, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's has vowed to hike value added tax--similar to the U.S. sales tax--to fund a cut in payroll taxes paid by employers. The aim is to make French production more competitive as Sarkozy counts on businesses using the breathing space the cut would provide to reduce their prices, but the measure could ultimately end up boosting prices.

Sarkozy argues his plan won't have an impact on prices as competition is high and French producers will be able to keep a cap on them thanks to the reduction in labor costs.

French consumer prices index (CPI) January 2012

World Economic outlook - French consumer prices index (CPI) January 2012 : French consumer prices fell in January from a month earlier, mostly due to seasonal sales which helped offset higher energy prices, according to data released Wednesday by France's national statistics office Insee.

In January, the consumer price index dropped 0.4% from December and was up 2.3% from a year earlier, Insee said. The data compare with forecasts for the index to be stable on the month and up 2.7% from a year earlier, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists.

France economic growth outlook 2012 Reuters poll

World Economic outlook - France economic growth outlook 2012 Reuters poll : France's growth outlook for 2012 is looking grimmer than ever, a Reuters poll showed, making the government's deficit-cutting goal harder to reach and piling pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy just weeks before a re-election battle.

France's economic growth forecast 2012

World Economic outlook - France's economic growth forecast 2012 :  Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, said in a series of interviews on French television on Thursday evening, that France's economic growth forecast for 2012 has been cut to 1%. He also said the admission of Greece to the euro was a mistake. France last had an annual budget surplus in 1974.

With just six months to go to a presidential election, the president announced that in light of the poorer economic outlook, new austerity measures will be necessary if France is to meet deficit targets and hold on to its treasured triple-A credit rating.