PARIS (Reuters) -The French public deficit will likely be 9.4% of gross domestic product this year, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday, compared to a previous estimate of 9%.
Le Maire also told national TV channel France 2 television that he expected economic growth to return in early 2022 to pre-COVID-19 levels, reiterating his forecast of 5% economic growth for this year.
“I am convinced that we will achieve 5% growth in 2021 and that we will return at the start of 2022 to the same level of economic activity that we had before the crisis,” Le Maire said.
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Rashmi Aich
