France’s Le Maire Says Inflation, Public Finances Key Challenges

The French government wants to control inflation, boost green industry and restore public finances this year, according to Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.

Despite the challenges of the energy crisis and rising prices, the minister said in a New Year's address to business leaders that he expected the economy to grow again in 2023.

Le Maire said that the conditions are in place for inflation to slow down in the future.

Wholesale prices for raw materials and sea freight rates should feed through to consumers. He said that Electricite de France SA was on track to raise power output to 45 gigawatts in January.

Energy and services were the leading cause of French inflation in December. Insee expects it to go up in the first two months of the year as the government adjusts energy price caps to allow for a 15% increase in household bills.

Other challenges facing the country are listed by Le Maire.

• Building independence for strategic industries, including medicines, electric batteries, chips, energy, hydrogen and data
• He said the government is committed to “green industrialization” that is “fast, massive, planned”
• Restoring public finances, and sticking to a commitment not to raise taxes or create additional debt
• He said the government would carry out comprehensive spending reviews every year, with conclusions delivered by April 1