PARIS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- French national statistics bureau Insee on Friday confirmed a 0.2-percent growth rate of Europe's main powerhouse during the third quarter of the year.
In its final estimate, Insee said households' expenditure, France's main growth engine, stagnated for the second consecutive quarter as a decline of consumption in services and food offset a growth in energy and engineered goods expenditure, according to the report.
Production in goods and services bounced back by 0.4 percent after it had fallen by 0.2 percent in the second quarter while corporate investment recorded slight improvement compared the negative performance over the April-June period.
French exports grew by 0.6 percent while imports rose by 2.2 percent after they had decreased by 1.7 percent in the second quarter, contributing to a negative trade balance.
Insee lowered the 2016 full-year growth forecast of the French economy to 1.2 percent from a previous estimation of 1.6 percent, adding more pressure on the government to recover with rampant unemployment currently at 9.6 percent.
