French economy grows more than expected in second quarter

French Chief of Staff to the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Jérôme Fournel (L) leaves after a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on July 16, 2024, ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Paris, France — France’s economy expanded by a forecast-beating 0.3 percent in the second quarter, the national statistics institute reported on Tuesday.

The quarter-on-quarter growth outperformed the INSEE institute’s earlier estimate of 0.1 percent, lifted by foreign trade and a recovery in corporate investment.

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Domestic demand made a small positive contribution to growth while household spending, a main driver of first-quarter expansion, was steady in the three months to June.

INSEE also revised its first-quarter growth estimate to 0.3 percent from a previous 0.2 percent.