France out of recession

France is out of recession. Growth in second quarter of the year was 0.5 per cent, according to the national statistics institute, Insee.

French President François Hollande visits the Florange steelworks, where his government failed to prevent the closure of a blast furnace Reuters/Philippe Wojazer

After two quarters of decline French GDP at last showed signs of recovery in April-June 2013, Insee announced Friday.

And the previous quarter was not quite as bad as previously estimated, the statisticians decided, revising their previous -0.2 per cent figure to -0.1 per cent.

It is not all good news, however.

Investment, a key motor of growth, was down 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2013, following a 1.0 per cent fall in the first quarter, although non-financial companies' investment stabilised at a

round 0.0 per cent.

Consumers' spending power rose but more slowly than in the previous quarter, 0.4 per cent, compared to 0.8 per cent, but that did not precent spending itself rising 0.4 per cent.

State spending rose 0.7 per cent.