French GDP growth slows, inflation eases

[October 31, 2023]  By Marine Strauss and Tassilo Hummel
 
PARIS (Reuters) - The French economy grew by 0.1% in the third quarter, with growth slowing from the previous quarter but staying just above zero thanks to household spending, preliminary data from the INSEE statistics agency showed on Tuesday.  

A view shows skyscraper office properties at the La Defense business district in Paris, France, September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Household consumption was up by 0.7%, while INSEE data also showed that inflationary pressures in the euro zone's second-biggest economy continued to ease.

"The upturn in household growth is good news. It drove growth in the third quarter," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters, confirming a 1% full-year growth target for 2023.

Le Maire also said recent trends of easing inflation would allow France to meet its 2024 growth target of 1.4%.

Third quarter growth was in line with forecasts. A Reuters poll of 26 economists had an average forecast of 0.1%, with estimates ranging from 0.5% to -0.3%.

The economy grew a revised 0.6% in the second quarter, INSEE said.

French inflation slowed in October as prices in the energy and food sector continued to ease, preliminary EU-harmonized data also showed.

Consumer prices rose 4.5% in October from a year earlier, after a 5.7% rise in September, INSEE said.

The inflation figure was in line with a consensus of 15 economists polled by Reuters.

(Reporting by Marine Strauss and Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Ingrid Melander)

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