French economy shows record growth in two years amid political crisis

France demonstrated the highest economic growth rate over the past two years amid a political and budget crisis in the third quarter of 2025. About writes Bloomberg.

France has become the main driver of economic growth in the eurozone. Its GDP grew by 0.5%, the best result since 2023.

The economic recovery was driven by rising domestic demand and robust foreign trade.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure called the results "outstanding." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sébastien Le Coronneu is trying to stabilize the budget and hold on to a divided parliament.

Amid credit rating downgrades, Bank of France Governor François Ville Roy de Gaulle warned of a "slow stranglehold" due to the inability to cope with debt growth.

Overall, the eurozone economy grew by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, which is twice as much as economists expected and better than the second quarter (0.1%).

Germany and Italy demonstrated stagnation, only avoiding recession.

Among other countries: Spain again showed strong growth, the Netherlands rose by 0.4%, Belgium by 0.3%, and Portugal by 0.8%. Ireland, Finland, and Lithuania, on the other hand, recorded a decline.

The European Central Bank has no plans to cut its key policy rate again, keeping it at 2% as inflation is close to its target.

• On August 21, Bloomberg wrote that the eurozone industry showed first growth from June 2022.