Bank of France may cut its 2026 growth forecast; Governor Moulin says current expectations are too optimistic.

Bank of France Governor Emmanuel Moulin said the central bank may have to cut its forecast for economic growth in 2026 after economic activity unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter. The current forecast is 0.4% growth this year, and achieving that level would require very strong growth in the fourth quarter. "Unfortunately, I think that is a bit too optimistic," Moulin said at the Jeco conference in Lyon, France. "We will certainly have to make some fine-tuning and lower it a little." The Bank of France is scheduled to update its macroeconomic forecasts in December, after the European Central Bank's next interest rate meeting, when the market widely expects the third rate hike since the outbreak of the Iran war.