Growth in the regions: greater inequality since the financial crisis

Since the early 1990s in France, growth in GDP only stopped during the recessions of 1993 and 2008-2009. These major developments were expressed differently however in the regions. Already more dynamic before the latest financial crisis, the Atlantic coast (Pays de la Loire, Aquitaine, Poitou-Charentes), Ile-de-France and Rhône-Alpes showed a greater recovery after 2008. In contrast, the north-east quarter (Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté, Lorraine, Picardy) and central regions (Auvergne, Loire Valley region, Limousin) grew more slowly until 2007 and did not return to the same level as before the crisis in 2011. Some relatively dynamic regions between 1993 and 2007 (Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées and Brittany) only came out of the recession in 2011. Corsica is the only region in Metropolitan France which has always experienced growth. Finally, in the overseas departments, the 2008-2009 recession was sharp but recovery was equally significant.