French Growth On Track To Beat Predictions

France is on track to surpass the growth forecasts set by the European Commission which could see wider Eurozone growth up, according to figures released today.

In the figures released by the Bank of France, French economic growth is predicted at 0.6% for the third quarter, with annual growth between 2% and 2.5%, despite the European Commission’s decision to revised growth projections downwards.

The Eurozone economy is now forecast at growth of just 0.5% over the third and the final quarter of 2007, with annual growth forecast to come in at just 1.9%, which saw investor confidence fall for a period and stock market performance decline, particularly amidst the ongoing sub-prime situation.

However, the French news underlines Jean Claude Trichet’s statements of yesterday, in which he refuted the claim that there were any fundamental economic problems with the Eurozone, as suggested that current growth predictions were merely as a result of the impact of externalities from the US and global market conditions.

Meanwhile, INSEE - the French national statistics bureau - suggested inflation was up to 1.3% off the back of the growth, as a direct result of increasing tobacco prices and strong consumer retail sales, which were also a consequence of stronger economic growth over the period

Despite volatility in markets worldwide, and banks adopting a more hostile approach to loaning money to businesses and consumers, the French economy at least appears to be performing well, to the delight of investors and analysts throughout the Eurozone.

Additionally, despite the impact of slower economic growth in the second quarter, the French economy seems to be on track to perform above expectations for the thirteen-nation Eurozone, underlining the general health of the regional economy as a whole.

The news was well received on the French exchange this morning, despite otherwise heavy trading losses through the course of early trading.

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