The French economy stagnated in the third quarter of the year amid a fall in exports and stocks, official data showed today.
A report also showed modest growth in household spending and business investment.
National statistics office INSEE said economic growth was zero in the third quarter, after a rapid 1.2 per cent in the previous quarter.
The report also showed that household spending grew 0.6 per cent, slightly weaker than 0.7 per cent growth the previous quarter. Business investment growth slowed sharply to 0.8 per cent from 2.2 per cent in the second quarter.
The third-quarter growth numbers are bad news for the government, which has promised to create jobs and improve purchasing power ahead of elections next year.
