PARIS: France’s economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the national statistics agency Insee says.
It also revised up gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of last year from its previous calculation of no growth.
In a particularly encouraging sign, investment by companies rose by 0.3 per cent during the quarter.
Business investment has been considered the weak link in the recovery across most of Europe.
France has been lowering taxes on businesses to encourage investment and employment, and the Insee statistics showed that their profit rate increased to 31.1 per cent in the first quarter – its highest level since the beginning of 2011.
Insee data showed foreign trade made a negative 0.5 percentage point contribution to GDP growth in the first quarter, after a positive 0.2 point increase in the final quarter of 2014.
