After recording a 0.3 percent decline in activity in the second quarter, the French economy will continue this trend in the next two quarters, pushing the country into recession, the French government’s statistics office Insee announced on Friday.
According to its forecasts, the French GDP will decrease by 0.1 percent in the next two quarters. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining economic activity."If financial turbulence does not worsen", GDP growth in 2008 will be 0.9 percent, Insee stated. The French economy grew by 2.1 percent last year and by 2.4 percent in 2006. As a result, the unemployment rate in France will rise to 7.4 percent by the end of the year, up from the current 7.2 percent, Insee reported. (H)
