France's economy grew a healthy 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, reinforcing economists' views that the country will outstrip its main euro-zone partners with full-year growth comfortably above 2 per cent.
French national statistics office INSEE said the 0.6 per cent second-quarter GDP increase compared to an unrevised 0.4 per cent rise in the first quarter. Household spending was up 0.6 per cent, as against an unrevised 0.2 per cent rise in the previous quarter.
Manufacturing output was up 1.1 per cent from 0.4 per cent in the previous quarter, and consumer goods were up 1.3 per cent against 0.9 per cent.
"This gives us an annual growth trend over 2 per cent, while the other euro-zone countries are beneath that figure. Thanks to robust domestic demand and dynamic services and construction sectors, France is proving the exception," said BNP economist Mr Emmanuel Ferry. "France should end the year on an extremely strong growth incline."
The report was the latest in a string of data to show that the economy was growing strongly and that France was the motor of economic growth in Europe.
"It's stronger than expected . . . a very positive outcome for the French economy, and I think we should see growth not far from 2.4 per cent for the whole year," said Mr Eric Chaney, economist at Morgan Stanley, of the report.