The downward revisions to French growth in 2026 by INSEE (0.7%) and the Banque de France (0.5%) are justified by the deterioration in the international environment since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East. The rise in oil prices has weighed on household purchasing power and corporate margins. Uncertainties about the world economy have prompted economic agents to be more cautious and therefore to reduce spending and recruitment. The lull after the conclusion of a program of talks between the United States and Iran has allowed oil prices to fall but has not removed concerns.

These ...

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The European Central Bank's decision to raise its base rates by 25 points has drawn a lot of criticism. It justified it by the persistence of an inflation level above 3% in the euro zone, well above the 2% threshold that it has set itself as a target, in accordance with its status. But this inflation comes in a context of economic stagnation and not at a time when excess demand in Europe is at the origin of price increases.

A debate of the same intensity exists on the other side of the Atlantic, but in a completely different ...

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The publication by INSEE of the mediocre results of the French economy in the 1st quarter with a 0.1% drop in GDP (against 0% in the first estimate) only confirms previous analyses. But past economic policy mistakes such as a family policy penalising those with above-average incomes or the desire to raise the retirement age while companies hardly recruit anyone over the age of 55 or the concentration of tax reductions on low wages which discourages the use of highly qualified jobs,  are not enough to explain the structural weakening that the country is facing.

Bureaucratic inflation, which manifests ...

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