France cuts 2024 growth forecast as outlook darkens
The new government forecast is more in line with a series of recent growth outlook downgrades by the European Commission, the OECD and French statistics agency INSEE.
- The European Commission on Feb. 15 cut its 2024 GDP growth forecast for France to 0.9% from the 1.2% seen in November, and it cut its forecast for Germany to 0.3% from 0.8%.
- Earlier this month, the OECD cut its 2024 French growth forecast to 0.6% from 0.8% previously.
- France's statistics agency INSEE on Feb. 7 forecast quarter-on-quarter growth of just 0.2% in the first and second quarters.
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In an interview with French television TF1, he also said that state spending would be cut by 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) across all departments and agencies.
"It is a growth forecast that remains positive, but takes into account the new geopolitical context," Le Maire said, citing the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, problems with maritime transport in the Red Sea, and the economic slowdown in China and Germany.
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Failure to back Ukraine aid could hurt US economy and defense contractors, says Germany: ‘We shouldn’t take freedom for granted’
BYARNE DELFS AND BLOOMBERG
February 18, 2024 at 8:21 AM PST
Boris Pistorius, Germany's defense minister, sees billions of dollars flowing from his government into America's defense industry.
ALEX KRAUS/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
As well as potentially hindering security cooperation and harming US defense contractors, Kremlin aggression if left unchallenged could also weaken Europe more broadly and disrupt the bloc’s trading relationship with the world’s biggest economy, Pistorius said in an interview Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.
“One aspect among many others of our transatlantic cooperation is that we signed hundreds of contracts worth billions of dollars and we are about to prepare new contracts,” he added. “It’s obvious that the alliance for security brings many advantages — for both sides.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other western leaders have mostly focused on political and strategic arguments in justifying their calls for additional US military aid for Ukraine.
Now Pistorius — a member of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party — is striking a different tone by highlighting potential pain for America’s defense contractors if more US support fails to materialize.
Germany is increasingly concerned about such a scenario. Attempts to unlock the latest aid package worth more than $60 billion have been stuck for months, prompting increasingly urgent appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as supplies of ammunition and other materiel dwindle. . .Germany is ramping up defense spending following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a significant proportion of the investments from a debt-financed €100 billion ($108 billion) special fund are flowing to the US defense industry.
Among a raft of orders worth some €30 billion, Scholz’s government has earmarked - €10 billion for 35 F-35A Lightning fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp.
- and is also buying 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing Co. for about €8 billion.
Pistorius warned of the consequences of a Ukrainian defeat, not only for Europe but also for the US, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion was a threat to the “rules-based international order.” “The UK is also doing more and more and also France is increasing its support,” he said. “I’m absolutely confident that we will be able to achieve a lot of support during the months and years to come. But of course it’s not easy. Money is not limitless.”
- French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday pledged additional assistance worth as much as €3 billion for this year after signing a bilateral security agreement with Zelenskiy in Paris.
- Earlier in the day, Zelenskiy had signed a similar agreement in Berlin, where Scholz unveiled a new €1.1 billion package of air-defense and artillery systems, part of total a German commitment of around €28 billion.
In the Bloomberg interview Saturday, Pistorius urged Europe and the NATO defense alliance to prepare for “the worst case scenario.”“I don’t like to look into the crystal ball,” he said. “I can’t predict if and when an attack on NATO territory might occur. But it could happen in five to eight years.”
“One aspect among many others of our transatlantic cooperation is that we signed hundreds of contracts worth billions of dollars and we are about to prepare new contracts,” he added. “It’s obvious that the alliance for security brings many advantages — for both sides.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other western leaders have mostly focused on political and strategic arguments in justifying their calls for additional US military aid for Ukraine.
Now Pistorius — a member of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party — is striking a different tone by highlighting potential pain for America’s defense contractors if more US support fails to materialize.
Germany is increasingly concerned about such a scenario. Attempts to unlock the latest aid package worth more than $60 billion have been stuck for months, prompting increasingly urgent appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as supplies of ammunition and other materiel dwindle. . .
Germany is ramping up defense spending following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a significant proportion of the investments from a debt-financed €100 billion ($108 billion) special fund are flowing to the US defense industry.
Among a raft of orders worth some €30 billion, Scholz’s government has earmarked
Among a raft of orders worth some €30 billion, Scholz’s government has earmarked
- €10 billion for 35 F-35A Lightning fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp.
- and is also buying 60 Chinook helicopters from Boeing Co. for about €8 billion.
“The UK is also doing more and more and also France is increasing its support,” he said. “I’m absolutely confident that we will be able to achieve a lot of support during the months and years to come. But of course it’s not easy. Money is not limitless.”
- French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday pledged additional assistance worth as much as €3 billion for this year after signing a bilateral security agreement with Zelenskiy in Paris.
- Earlier in the day, Zelenskiy had signed a similar agreement in Berlin, where Scholz unveiled a new €1.1 billion package of air-defense and artillery systems, part of total a German commitment of around €28 billion.
In the Bloomberg interview Saturday, Pistorius urged Europe and the NATO defense alliance to prepare for “the worst case scenario.”
“I don’t like to look into the crystal ball,” he said. “I can’t predict if and when an attack on NATO territory might occur. But it could happen in five to eight years.”
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