PARIS, April 28. /TASS/. French Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire has said that he still thinks that the EU sanctions will lead to the collapse of the Russian economy.

"I insist on this and believe that the sanctions are effective. They force Russia to spend too much on military needs," he said in an interview with the LCI television channel.

According to the French minister, Russia’s economy is growing only thanks to military spending while nothing is invested in innovation, research and artificial intelligence.

In March 2022, Le Maire said that the European Union would launch a total economic war on Russia. He said back then that the West’s anti-Russian sanctions were very effective and would lead to the "collapse of the Russian economy."

By today, the European Union has adopted 13 packages of anti-Russian sanctions and is working on the 14th package.

Meanwhile, according to the International Monetary Fund, Russia’s economy demonstrated a 3.6% growth last year. The forecast for 2024 has been adjusted, bringing up the GDP growth to 3.2%, while France’s economy is expected to grow by mere 0.7% in 2024.