France posted its strongest growth in five decades last year, hitting 7 percent as the economy bounced back from the Covid-19 crisis faster than expected, data showed on Friday, reports RFI.
The strongest boom in a generation gives President Emmanuel Macron's economic credentials a boost less than three months from an April election in which he is widely expected to run for a second term.
The economy grew 0.7 percent in the final three months of the year after a particular strong third quarter when it grew 3.1 percent, the INSEE statistics agency said in a preliminary report.
The better-than-expected end to 2021 represents the strongest growth in France since 1969.
In 2020, when strict coronavirus lockdowns were in force, the economy shrank by 8 percent. While France has not altogether caught up, finance minister Bruno Le Maire was jubilant about the latest figures.