US EditionFrench economy records zero growth in first quarter
- France's economy showed zero growth in the first quarter of 2026, with GDP unchanged from the previous quarter, missing market expectations of 0.2% growth.
- Consumer spending declined by 0.1%, household investment fell by 0.7%, and business investment dropped 0.2% from January to March 2026.
- Net trade reduced GDP by 0.7 percentage points due to a 3.8% fall in exports, but inventory building contributed 0.8 percentage points to growth.
- The French government warned the Iran war could cost public finances up to €6 billion in 2026 and plans to offset this with a spending freeze.
34 Articles
34 Articles
French economy flat in the first quarter, below forecasts -preliminary GDP
The French economy was flat in the first quarter of this year, slowing from the previous three months, as contributions from inventories were offset by a decline in contributions from foreign trade.
The gross domestic product (GDP) remained stable over the three months of 2026, announced this Thursday in an initial estimate, due to ‘atonous' domestic demand, and a ‘highly negative' contribution from external trade.
InsideNoVA.com
French economy records zero growth in first quarter
France's economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter of this year due to "sluggish" domestic demand and a "strongly" negative contribution from foreign trade, the national statistics agency INSEE said Thursday.
Gross domestic product remained stable in the first quarter of France, according to INSEE, as domestic demand and the contribution of foreign trade were not at the forecast level.
The French economy stagnated in the first quarter according to the first estimates, surprising the analysts. Undynamic domestic demand and penalizing foreign trade explain this result, lower than the recent forecasts.
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