France's economy grew by a 0.5 percent in the first quarter, the state statistics agency said today, thanks in part to a pickup in consumer spending.
But the growth was slower than the 0.6 percent expansion forecast by analysts.
The agency INSEE said the latest growth rate was well ahead of the 0.1 percent rise in the same period last year.
Also Friday, the government said the country's current account deficit narrowed significantly in March thanks in part to a rise in non-travel-related services.
The Finance ministry and central bank said the current account deficit was 1.8 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in March, from 3.5 billion euros ($4.47 billion) in February.
For the first quarter, however, the deficit widened to 8.82 billion euros ($11.26 billion) from 5.3 billion euros ($6.77 billion) in the same period last year
