France's GDP in 2021 grew by a record 7% for the first time since 1970

Insee, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research of France, reported a historic growth of the economy in 2021 – by 7%. The last time such GDP growth values were recorded in 1970, and now France may turn out to be a country with one of the most dynamically developing European economies.

In the fourth quarter, France's GDP grew by 0.7% on a quarterly basis, while analysts on average predicted an increase of 0.5%. 

In 2020, France lost 8% of GDP due to the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time since World War II. However, in 2021, the country has already begun to recover. Insee predicted economic growth of 6.7%, which was also in line with the forecasts of the Bank of France, but the actual data exceeded all expectations. 

The tangible economic growth is also evidenced by data on a slight decrease in unemployment in the country. So, over the year, unemployment in France decreased by 12.6%, and in the fourth quarter of the year, the unemployment rate decreased by 5.9%.

However, according to experts, in total, the state spent a little more than 60 billion euros last year, which led to a state budget deficit of about 7%, and a public debt of about 113%.