France

lecornu

Macron reappoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister for government with little chance of survival

Bankinter | Emmanuel Macron yesterday appointed a new government to be headed once again by Sébastien Lecornu. He made some changes to the Council of Ministers, notably in the Economy and Finance portfolio, with Roland Lescure taking charge of presenting the 2026 budget. The first Council of Ministers meeting will be held tomorrow. Analysis team’s view: Good news, although this new government offers little guarantee of survival. The fragmentation of…


France's economy malaise

France’s preliminary CPI rises 1.2% year-on-year compared to 0.9% in August

Bankinter | Preliminary CPI rises less than expected in September. Year-on-year 1.2% versus 1.3% expected versus 0.9% in August. In month-on-month terms, negative 1.0% versus negative 0.9% versus a rise of 0.4% previously. Producer prices rise (year-on-year) 0.1% versus 0.5% previously (revised from 0.4%). In month-on-month terms, down 0.2% versus 0.5% previously (revised from increase of 0.4%). Finally, consumer spending (year-on-year) fell 0.8% versus 0.3% expected and 0.4% previously (revised…


Francia Bayrou

Fall of Bayrou’s government adds instability to French political scene

Bankinter | Political crisis as Bayrou’s government falls. He loses the vote of confidence in the National Assembly by 194 votes in favour and 364 against. This outcome forces President Macron to dismiss Bayrou and seek a new prime minister, the fourth in less than a year, or call elections. His comment that he will appoint a new prime minister within a few days reduces the likelihood of new elections….


Francia Bayrou

France proposes €43.8 billion adjustment to 2026 budget to reduce deficit to -3% by 2029

Bankinter | Prime Minister Bayrou proposes a €43.8 billion adjustment to the 2026 budget. The aim is to reduce the deficit, which stands at -5.8% in 2024 (as opposed to -3.1% in the EMU, -2.8% in Germany, -3.4% in Italy and -3.2% in Spain) to -4.6% in 2026, with a commitment to reach -3% in 2029. The government’s projections point to a figure of -5.4% in 2025. The measures presented…


eurozona superavit comercial

Germany records trade surplus of €18.4 billion in May, France increases deficit to €7.8 billion

Singular Bank | According to Destatis, in May, German exports fell by 1.4% compared to the previous month (versus -1.6% in April), standing at €129.4 billion. At the same time, imports contracted by 3.8% compared to the previous month (versus +2.2% in April), reaching a value of €111.1 billion. Given this development, Germany’s trade balance in May recorded a surplus of €18.4 billion, exceeding analysts’ consensus estimates (€15.7 billion). On…


portugal economia

S&P confirms France’s rating at AA-/A-1 due to uncertain fiscal strategy, raises Portugal’s to A from A- due to current account surpluses

Bankinter | S&P confirms the AA-/A-1 rating of France, but downgrades the Outlook from Stable to Negative. It cites a weakening of public finances. The Budget for 2025 has been approved and proposes a reduction of the deficit of 0.4% of GDP, but the fiscal strategy from 2025 is uncertain. In addition, S&P forecasts GDP growth of <1% in 2025, making the goal of fiscal consolidation even more difficult. In…


BanqueFrance

Bank of France says country needs to save €15-20 billion a year to bring deficit down to 3% by 2029

Banca March | The governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy, confirms that the plan to reduce the deficit to 5.4% this year is going in the right direction. Last week the new French prime minister set the deficit target for 2025 at 5.4%, compared to the 5% set by his predecessor. Villeroy had previously warned of the need to reduce the fiscal imbalance to below 5.5% and bring…


President Macron

Improvising a new government for France

The weekend ends with a focus on France, following the resignation of Prime Minister Michel Barnier due to the no-confidence motion backed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party. According to Le Pen, the outgoing administration’s plan to bring the budget gap down to 3.0% by 2029 was not credible for the country, and a “reasonable trajectory” based on wealth creation and savings is needed. “We want to absorb the deficits,…


francia asamblea nacional

French PM Michel Barnier abandons plans to increase electricity taxes in 2025 budgets

BancaMarch: Michel Barnier, Prime Minister of France, is abandoning plans to increase electricity taxes in the 2025 budget. This decision, which would be a concession to the demands of Le Pen’s party, is not enough. The Rassemblement Nationale has the bargaining power to make the government meet its demands, since its vote would be decisive in the event of a no-confidence motion. Yesterday Barnier struck an appeasing tone, declaring that…


francia asamblea nacional

Fitch maintains France’s rating at AA-, but reduces outlook to Negative due to sharp rise in public deficit, potentially 6.1% at year’s end

Bankinter: Fitch maintained its rating at AA-, but downgraded its outlook to Negative. It justified its decision on the sharp rise in the Public Deficit: it is expected to close this year at 6.1%, far from the limit imposed by the EU, 3%, from Fitch’s previous estimate, 5.1%, and from the 2023 level, 5.5%. They do not expect it to reach the 3.0% target until 2029. Consistently, they estimate that…