French President Francois Hollande delivers the news during Athens visit Athens – Arabstoday France will miss its forecast of 0.8 percent growth in the economy this year, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday. \"Today everybody knows that we will not reach 0.8 percent (of growth) as forecast,\" Hollande said during a one-day visit to Athens.
He added that a new forecast would be released at the end of March and insisted that France remained in a better position than most European countries.
\"On the economic growth plan, France is among countries who are in the least poor position, even if we are far from meeting our objectives,\" the French President said.
Hollande\'s statement followed a similar admission by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius earlier on Tuesday.
When asked by a journalist on RTL radio if the figure would be 0.2-0.3 percent, Fabius replied that \"it\'s around this figure,\" having previously recalled that the forecast had first been 1.2 percent, and then 0.8 percent.
Source: AFP