France beats EU deficit, growth targets in win for Macron
Paris, (MILLAT ONLINE):France on Monday reported a budget deficit equivalent to 2.6 percent of the economy in 2017, below the EU limit of 3.0 percent for the first time in a decade.
The INSEE national statistics agency also reported 2.0 percent growth in 2017, France’s highest in six years.
The deficit figure, which beat expectations of 2.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), is a fresh sign the eurozone’s second-biggest economy is experiencing a rebound under President Emmanuel Macron.
In 2016, the deficit stood at 3.4 percent of GDP.
The 2017 figure was the first to come below the European limit since 2007 — the year the global financial crisis erupted.
France, long a laggard in Europe, has come under strong pressure to do more to reduce its budget deficit and debt, which are still among the highest in the eurozone.