The French economy, the euro zone's second largest, should grow 1.5 percent next year, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday.
The country's high unemployment rate, which stands currently at 10 percent, will start lowering, Xinhua quoted Hollande as saying.
"Growth should be at 1.5 percent next year. It is the target that we have set and it is reasonable. We may possibly do more but I must ensure that our forecasts correspond to what can be the reality's estimation," he said.
Looking to this year's economic performance, Hollande expected more than one percent, but "it is not yet sufficient to reduce unemployment", according to France's top official.
Under pressure to put in order the country's finances, Hollande said 2015 deficit gap stood at 3.8 percent and cut the forecast figure by five percentage points next year.
