French govt targets 2% growth in 2018

PARIS - The French government aims to achieve 2 pct growth in 2018, the best economic performance in six years, President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Wednesday in a statement after a cabinet meeting.

Macron's centrist executive team had previously estimated this year's growth rate at 1.7 percent.

"The recovery started in 2017 should be confirmed in 2018 and 2019, supported in particular by a buoyant international environment," according to the statement.

The government attributed the expected strong growth to accelerating global demand, dynamic investment and bolstered households' purchasing power.

Over the period 2020-2022, economic activity would slow down slightly but remain sustained at 1.7 percent after the rebound for the 2017-2019 period.

With a deficit of 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, France respected, for the first time in a decade, its commitment to reduce the budget deficit below the European Union safeline of 3 percent.

For this year, the eurozone's second largest economic power eyes to narrow the budget gap by three percentage points to 2.3 percent and further squeeze public spending.

The expected financial and economic rosy figures are "in part the fruit of the changes engaged by the President of the Republic since his election and which have restored confidence in economic environment," Benjamin Grivaux, the government's spokesperson said.