The French statistics bureau Insee said on Thursday that France's economic growth is expected to accelerate to 1.6 percent this year, above a government target of 1.5 percent.
The French growth will stand at 1.6 percent in 2010, as the economy will grow by an average of 0.4 percent per quarter for the rest of the year, the bureau said in its economic outlook report.
Insee forecast a slowdown in the country's exports due to less demand in world markets. Sales abroad will pick up by 1.5 percent over the third and fourth quarters this year, as against a 3.6- percent record during the April-June period.
This slowdown in exports should be partially offset by strong domestic demand via household consumption, which was set to rise by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent over Q3 and Q4 respectively, led by boosted consumer purchasing power.
Insee estimated job creations will stand at 50,000 in the non- agricultural market sector in the second half of 2010, with the jobless rate stable at 9.6 percent.
France revised up its 2010 economic growth to 1.5 percent and expected a 2-percent growth for 2011, after a decline of 2.6 percent in 2009./.