Growth in French economic activity reached 2.6% in 2022, marked however by a slowdown in the fourth quarter due to a sharp decline in household consumption in a context of high inflation, INSEE said on Tuesday. . In 2022, gross domestic product (GDP) benefited above all from the rebound in activity recorded in the second part of 2021 "at the end of the health crisis", explained the statistical institute.
Quarterly growth "later markedly less dynamic thereafter," he said. However, the figures are better than expected, as INSEE expected GDP to rise by 2.5% and contract by 0.2% in the fourth quarter.
After the economy grew by 0.2% in the third quarter, the last three months of the year were marked by a sharp drop in household consumption, penalized by a decline in purchases of food products, which experienced a double-digit price increases.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday hailed the "exceptional resilience" of French companies and employees, minutes after INSEE's announcement of 2.6% GDP growth ( gross domestic product) of France in 2022. This figure "testifies to the strong rebound of our economy after the shock of the Covid and its resilience in the face of the energy crisis", rejoiced the number two of the government, which initially counted on annual growth of 2.7% (against a forecast of 2.5% for INSEE).
Energy consumption also fell in the fourth quarter, due to a very mild autumn but also to energy sobriety efforts. The production of goods and services over the October-December period decelerated, affected by the fall strikes in the refineries and, in trade, by lower household consumption.
In the energy sector, it remained "low", according to INSEE, disturbed by the maintenance of nuclear reactors. Conversely, foreign trade contributed positively to GDP growth, with imports falling more sharply than exports. Although they continued to progress, investments lost momentum (0.8% after 2.3% in the third quarter).
