France’s Growth in 2021 the Highest in 5 Decades as Q4 Expansion Beat Estimates

(Insee) France ended 2021 strongly, with 0.7% growth in the fourth quarter, helping the economy to post a 7% expansion in the year, the highest in 52 years.  

Growth in the fourth quarter was higher than a forecast of 0.5% and happened after a higher 3.1% expansion in the third quarter. 

The growth in the fourth quarter was fueled by a rise in consumer spending, which ticked higher by 0.4%, despite easing from a robust 5.6% jump in the third quarter.

Business investments improved by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, more than a gain of 0.1% in the third. 

At 7% expansion in 2021, the euro zone’s second-largest economy escaped the slump of 2020, when it hit a contraction of 8% in the wake of the coronavirus restrictions.

France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire says the economy rebounded strongly from the Covid-19 crisis, although sectors such as tourism and hotel were still lagging behind. 

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