The French economy continued to grow in the third quarter, stimulated in particular by the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to the first estimate published on Wednesday, October 30, by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee).
France’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4% in the July-September period, exceeding the expectations of economists who expected an increase of 0.3%, after 0.2% in the second quarter.
Income from tickets to the Paris Olympic Games and audiovisual broadcasting rights are recorded in the national accounts at the time of the sporting event, INSEE specifies.
The production of market services was dynamic in the third quarter (+0.5%, as in the previous quarter): it was stimulated by the rebound in domestic services (+3.5% after -0.2%) with the production of sporting events, and the acceleration of production in information – communication (+2.3% after +1.1%) due to audiovisual broadcasting rights. It slows down in accommodation and restaurants (+0.2% after +0.7%). On the other hand, production fell in transport services (-0.6% after +0.2%) and in commerce (-0.4% after -0.2%).
On the contrary, production in the manufacturing industry fell slightly this quarter (-0.1% after -0.3%), penalized in particular by the fall in production in refineries (-0.8% after + 3.4%).
Household consumption, INSEE explains in a statement, recovered in the third quarter (+0.5% after +0%), “partly (around half) due to the consumption of recreational services within the framework of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris”. INSEE observes that domestic demand “recovers some momentum under the effect of the rebound in household consumption”.
This estimate is in line with the expectations of INSEE, which at the beginning of September lowered its growth forecast for the third quarter to +0.4% (compared to +0.5% previously).
More information to come.
