France: Eurozone’s 2nd-largest economy grows more than expected in Q2

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The French economy, the eurozone’s second-largest, expanded more than expected, 0.5%, in the second quarter of the year, reversing from a 0.2% contraction in the first quarter, official data showed on Friday.

The markets' consensus forecast was a 0.2% growth.

The largest contribution to growth came from stronger exports (+0.8% after +1.6% in Q1 2022), along with declining imports (-0.6% after +1.2%), French statistics agency Insee said.

At the same time, inventory changes offered a small positive contribution to GDP (0.1 points vs 0.2 points in Q1).

"The contribution of final domestic demand (excluding inventories) to GDP growth was null this quarter," it said.

Final domestic demand showed no contribution to growth, with both household consumption (-0.2% vs -1.3%) and government spending (-0.2% versus flat reading) shrinking.

Meanwhile, the economy grew annually 4.2% in Q2 after a 4.8% expansion in Q1.