The French economy grew at a slightly slower pace at the end of 2015, the statistical office Insee said Friday.
Gross domestic product climbed 0.2 percent sequentially after expanding 0.3 percent in the third quarter. The rate matched expectations.
In 2015 as a whole, GDP growth accelerated to 1.1 percent from 0.2 percent in 2014.
Growth in total gross fixed capital formation accelerated to 0.8 percent from 0.1 percent. On the other hand, household consumption expenditure fell 0.4 percent, reversing a 0.4 percent rise in the third quarter.
Thus, final domestic demand excluding inventory changes rose very slightly and contributed positively to activity by 0.1 points.
At the same time, exports advanced 0.6 percent, offsetting a -0.6 percent fall, while imports kept on increasing, by 1.6 percent, following a 1.5 percent rise.
Nonetheless, foreign trade balance contributed negatively to GDP again by -0.3 points. Conversely, changes in inventories contributed positively by +0.5 points.
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