To rebuild fiscal buffers after large fiscal responses to successive shocks over 2020-22, France will need to reverse the trend spending increase observed over the last three decades through structural spending reforms. This paper identifies areas where scope for savings or efficiency gains...

The Selected Issues paper on France identifies areas where scope for savings or efficiency gains exist based on an analysis of public spending on key categories and related outcomes relative to peers. Reform of social protection, health, education, and civil service should preserve or improve...

The 2022 Article IV Consultation discusses that France saw a robust recovery from the coronavirus disease 2019 shock but is now facing the repercussions of Russia's war in Ukraine. The large fiscal response to the energy price shock has cushioned the economic impact but has been costly, poorly...