France GDP stagnates in second quarter

PARIS;  France's economy stagnated in the second
quarter after encouraging 0-7 per-cent rise in GDP
in the three months before,with investment falling
away,according to official statistic released Friday,

Finance Minister Michel Sapin insisted that the
second biggest economy in the eurozone was still
on course to poet 1 per cent growth over the year
as a whole,

"After a very dynamic first quarter ,the level of
activity has held up"he said But the government
which has been pinning its hopes on growth to
tackle the country 's chronic unemployment problems
will not have been cheered by slowing growth in
investment ,which rose only  02 per cent compared
to 06 per cent in the first quarter.

Consumer spending also slowed sharply ,from a 09
percent in the second quarter.

In one good sign ,however ,the contribution France's
exports made to the economy rose by 03 percent
while imports slowed by 1,6 percent
AFP