French economy stagnates in 2nd quarter
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/08/13/3330087/french-economy-stagnates-in-2nd.html?sp=/99/261/
French economy stagnates in 2nd quarter
The Associated Press
August 13, 2014 Updated 1 hour ago
PARIS France's economy stagnated in the second quarter, leaving President Francois Hollande increasingly desperate to fulfill his two-year-old pledge to get the country growing again.
National statistics agench INSEE reported Thursday that the eurozone's second-largest economy posted zero growth for the second straight quarter.
Finance Minister Michel Sapin immediately acknowledged that the goverment's forecast of 1 percent growth this year was beyond reach. In an op-ed published on the website of French daily Le Monde, Sapin said: "This year GDP growth will be around 0.5 percent, and nothing currently allows us to expect growth much above 1 percent in 2015."
France's plight, he argued, was part of a broader economic malaise in Europe.