France

French unemployment at record high, stocks fall sharply, country to cut public deficit

to have an annual deficit of more than 3% of GDP. According to the National Bureau of Statistics “INSEE”, the French GDP witnessed a decline of 0.1% in the third quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter. This result bucked analysts’ predictions of a growth of 0.1%. As the French trade deficit widened, it adversely affected the growth of the economy, where exports fell 1.5% and imports rose 1%. Besides, fixed asset investment declined by 0.6% in the third quarter of 2013, and household spending growth slowed down from 0.4% in the second quarter of the year to 0.2% in the third quarter. Furthermore, the number of unemployed people in France has reached a record of 3.3 million, hitting a new record high. Last January has registered an increase of 5.7% from the previous year, a percentage that is equivalent to 177.8 thousand. According to the statistical office of the European Union “EUROSTAT”, unemployment rate in France now stands at 10.8%. The figures presented by the stock indicators have been below desired levels throughout 5 weeks since the beginning of the year, for the French CAC index fell by 0.51%, i.e. 20.80 points, prompting the trading level to stand at 4086.95 points. The index “CAC 40” has declined by 0.31%, and hence closed last April trading at 3856.75 points.