The indicators are green. The French economic growth reached 0.5% in the third quarter of 2017.
Furthermore, the public body revised the gross domestic product for the second quarter upwards, as it grew by 0.6%, instead of 0.5%, according to revised figures.
These figures thus confirm and support the government’s hypothesis, which predicts a GDP increase of 1.8% for the entire year.
In detail, Insee attributes this development to an acceleration in household consumption, which indeed increased by 0.5%, after a 0.3% increase in the previous quarter, according to the statistical organization.
Domestic demand thus contributed 0.6 percentage points to growth.
However, not all French economic indicators are in a good position. Total production is experiencing a slight slowdown, with a 0.6% increase compared to 0.8% in the second quarter.
Foreign trade also weighs on domestic growth. Imports increased significantly – +2.5% – while exports slowed significantly (+0.7%). Overall, foreign trade impacts third-quarter activity: -0.6 percentage points of GDP.
As a reminder, the foreign trade deficit reached 48.1 billion euros.
In total, the “acquired growth” – that is, the level the GDP would reach if activity did not progress by the end of the year – was 1.7% at the end of September.
In its latest economic report, Insee hypothesized growth of 0.5% in the last quarter of 2017. If this were the case, it would easily reach the 1.8% expected by the government for the entire year.
