French economy grows more than expected in second quarter

France’s economy expanded by a forecast-beating 0.3 percent in the second quarter, the national statistics institute reported on Tuesday.The quarter-on-quarter growth outperformed the INSEE institute’s earlier estimate of 0.1 percent, lifted by foreign trade and a recovery in corporate investment.

Domestic demand made a small positive contribution to growth while household spending, a main driver of first-quarter expansion, was steady in the three months to June.

INSEE also revised its first-quarter growth estimate to 0.3 percent from a previous 0.2 percent.