French national statistics bureau Insee on Friday revised the country's growth rate for the last quarter of 2010 up to 0.4 percent from a previous forecast of 0.2 percent.
The acceleration of French gross domestic product (GDP) stemmed mainly from an increase in consumer expenditures, which gained 0.4 percentage point to stand at 0.9 percent.
Foreign trade also helped the country to accelerate its GDP growth. The trade balance contributed 0.6 percent to overall GDP growth due to a good performance by exports, against a 0.4-percent negative impact during the third quarter.
French exports rose by 1 percent during the last three quarters of last year, offsetting a 1.2-percent fall in imports.
In a recent report, France Central Bank forecast economic growth of 0.8 percent over the first three months of the year due to higher services activities.
The French government has targeted 2 percent GDP growth this year from 1.5 percent in 2010, and 2.5 percent between 2012 and 2014./.