Not all gloom and doom in France

After nearly two weeks of social unrest in France the big European country could well use some good news. The economic growth figures for the third quarter seem to fulfill this objective and shows a healthy development for the French economy despite the riots in Paris.

"The riots will affect confidence and may even affect the pattern of consumer spending but it will be hard to spot any effect on the aggregate growth figures," said Rob Carnell, senior economist at ING in London. See article from Daily Times.

"Two key economic indicators spelled good news for the French economy Thursday.

First, the French economy grew by 0.7 percent in the third quarter from the figure in the second quarter, the official statistics institute INSEE reported on Thursday. Separately, INSEE also reported that French consumer prices fell by 0.1 percent in October from the September figure, cutting 12-month inflation to 1.8 percent from 2.2 percent in September." - See article from Expatica.com

Generally, key indicators of the economy such as inflation, export figures, and consumer confidence seem to be moving slowly in the right direction;

"A 13 percent drop in the euro against the dollar this year has brightened prospects for European exporters such as France's Schneider Electric SA, the world's largest maker of circuit breakers (...)

French consumers stepped up spending as oil prices retreated from a record and government-subsidized hiring pushed down unemployment from a 5 1/2 year high (...)

The French inflation rate slid to 2 percent in October from 2.4 percent in September, Insee, the national statistics office, said today. Crude oil prices have fallen 17 percent from an Aug. 30 record of $70.85 a barrel. They fell today to less than $59."

See article from Bloomberg.

The improvement of the French economy is good news not only for France but also for Europe. However, I think it is fair to say that we have a long way to go and in that view good news in Europe concerning the economy is particularly welcome at a time when the large countries of Europe are showing weak economic figures compared to USA.