French economy expands 0.6 pct in Q4

[February 12, 2010]  PARIS (AP) -- France's economic growth pulled ahead of the eurozone average in the fourth quarter, boosted partly by a government plan to encourage drivers to trade in their old cars for new ones, the finance minister said Friday.

France's gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the October through December period compared to the previous quarter, according to preliminary figures released by the national statistics agency, Insee.

That was above the average among the 16 nations that share the euro currency, which hit just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. France didn't sink as deeply into recession as many other rich countries.

France's annual 2009 economic output contracted by 2.2 percent, as the statistics agency had forecast. Insee said it was "the largest drop since after World War II."

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde attributed the fourth-quarter improvement partly to a program that offered drivers a euro1,000 ($1,440) bonus for trading in old vehicles. Lagarde said the economy should grow 1.4 percent in 2010.

"I think that's reasonable," she said in an interview with BFM television.

France's output of goods and services shrank 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009, then expanded 0.3 percent in the second quarter and 0.2 percent in the third, Insee said.

[Associated Press]

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