What action did the Banque de France take?

We have delivered on our commitment to bring inflation back to our target of 2%; the battle against too-high inflation is practically won

In France, consumer price inflation came down from 3.4% in January 2024 to 1.8% in December 2024 and January 2025. It is important to note that it had reached a high of 7.3% in February 2023.

Similarly, consumer price inflation for the euro area fell over the year from 2.8% in January 2024 to 2.5% in January 2025.

As soon as the risk of excessively high inflation had dissipated, the “releasing of the screw” of monetary conditions could begin. Key rates were reduced four times by 25 basis points in 2024 (in June, September, October and December) and then twice more by the same amount in February and March 2025.

The easing of monetary conditions meant that the cost of new lending to businesses and households in France could be reduced, prompting a recovery in new loan production, particularly in housing loans.

Our handling of monetary conditions allowed inflation to be reeled back towards its target of 2% without causing a recession: GDP growth in France stood at 1.1% in 2024. It is expected to be a little lower in 2025 at 0.7%, but to pick up more sharply in 2026 and 2027.

At a time when payment methods are evolving to adapt to the digital era, historically low levels of fraud across all payment instruments has helped to maintain a high degree of confidence in the currency. This is notably due to the efforts of the Comité national des moyens de paiement (CNMP – the National Payments Committee) and the Observatoire de la sécurité des moyens de paiement (Observatory for the Security of Payment Means). The year also saw ongoing building work on the new banknote printing plant in Vic-le-Comte and preparations for the digital euro so that we can continue to offer citizens a choice of modern and safe means of payment.

A resilient French financial system in a changing and uncertain world

The soundness of the banking and insurance sectors, supported by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR – the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority) and its strict and proactive supervision, has been an important factor in absorbing the shocks arising from the uncertainties in the European and international environment. In its Financial Stability Report – December 2024, the Banque de France also stressed that the return of inflation to its target and the gradual reduction in key interest rates, against a backdrop of moderate growth in France, were favourable factors for the stability of the French financial system in 2024. The macroprudential measures adopted by the Haut Conseil de stabilité financière (HCSF – High Council for Financial Stability) enabled the French financial system to deal with its identified vulnerabilities. In 2024, the HCSF, following a proposal from the Governor of the Banque de France, chose to maintain the countercyclical capital buffer at 1%.

The Banque de France and the ACPR work to ensure that financial players take better account of the risks associated with climate change, the deterioration of the natural world and the digitalisation of finance. For example, the ACPR notably published the results of a new climate stress test exclusively for insurers during the year. They highlight the significant exposure of insurance undertakings to climate change-related shocks and underline the necessity for insurers to incorporate climate risk into their strategy and governance. The Banque de France and the ACPR are also fully committed to the work of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). In light of the cyber risks in an ever-more digitised economy, the Banque de France notably took part in the cross-border coordination exercise in the financial sector conducted by the G7 Cyber Expert Group.

The ACPR ensures adherence to best business practice, the protection of customers of financial institutions, and compliance with anti-money laundering obligations. In 2024, the ACPR focused its customer protection activities on products marketed without sufficient apparent attention paid to customers’ interests. The ACPR also blacklisted 1,290 unauthorised websites or players in 2024.

The Banque de France: Serving businesses and individuals

In 2024, the Banque de France further stepped up its support to businesses, thanks to simplified and more effective tools. In March, it opened a “Manager Portal”  – a new platform that provides a single access point for the Banque de France’s specific business services. It also rolled out a climate indicator to three high-stakes sectors for the ecological transition (power generation, transport and real estate), in order to help around 2,000 businesses better manage their transition. Furthermore, the Banque de France’s 102 department-based VSE-SME correspondents assisted 8,126 project leaders and company directors during the year, and since 2020, its network of start-up correspondents has helped nearly 1,700 start-ups to obtain funding. Requests for credit mediation declined slightly in 2024 compared with 2023.

The Banque de France continued its work to promote financial inclusion through four complementary channels (face-to-face, internet, mail and the 3414 one-stop helpline). In 2024, it arranged for the opening of 29,295 bank accounts under the right to a bank account procedure and recorded a 10.8% increase in the number of applications to the household debt commissions (134,803 compared with 121,617 in 2023).

As the steering body for France’s national financial literacy strategy (EDUCFI), the Banque de France provided training on financial, economic and budgetary issues to 131,872 people. In 2024, 318,156 students obtained the EDUCFI passport. Thanks to the extension of the EDUCFI passport to all year 9 classes, 750,000 students will receive one each year. The Banque de France also ran budget workshops with its partners for 42,000 young people on the National Universal Service scheme. With its revamped website, the “ABC de l’économie” collection – aimed at high school and university students and anyone curious to know more about the economy – now offers more than 110 free educational resources. There were over 100,000 visitors to the Cité de l’économie, or Citéco museum.

The Banque de France provides financial services on behalf of the state, managing the Treasury’s accounts and related payments. Since 2021, the Banque de France has been responsible for issuing short-term securities on behalf of the European Commission to finance the European NextGenerationEU recovery plan.