The French economy surprisingly contracted in early 2022. The gross domestic product fell by 0.2 percent between January and March compared to the previous quarter, according to the national statistics office. So far, the authority had reported stagnation. Another reason for the poor development was that consumers reduced their spending by 1.5 percent in the first three months of the year. In addition, private consumption fell by 0.4 percent in April compared to the previous month, while economists surveyed by Reuters had actually expected an increase of 0.8 percent. Total domestic demand thus noticeably slowed economic growth by 0.6 percentage points in the first quarter, while foreign trade at least gave a slight boost to the economy.
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