French Economy Grows as Investment Rises

French economy grew faster in the first quarter than previously estimated.

The economy grew by 0.6 percent instead of the 0.5 percent estimated in April, beating 0.4 percent growth rate recorded in the final quarter of 2105, according to France’s statistics office Insee on Monday.

Year-on-year, the economy expanded 1.4 percent from a year earlier. This improvement was as a result of the increase in business investment in the country, helped by $46 billion tax cuts and a short term tax break that allowed companies accelerated amortization in the current fiscal year.

The French GDP report showed that business investment rose 2.4 percent in the first quarter, more than the 1.6 percent originally reported.

Consumer spending rose by 1 percent, revised downward from 1.2 percent initially reported. Also, jobless claims have plunged for two consecutive months, currently at the lowest level in more than a year.

The economy is showing signs that the recovery is starting to feed through into the labour market for the first time since Hollande took office four years ago.