French economic growth slowed to 1.5 per cent last year from 2.3 per cent in 2017, hit by weaker consumer demand amid the turmoil of end-year "yellow vest" protests, official figures showed Wednesday.

The official INSEE statistics office said consumer spending was unchanged in the last three months of 2018, compared with a rise of 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, as the protests against increased taxes and falling living standards caused widespread disruption.

External trade provided support for the economy in the fourth quarter, along with goods and services but investment was weak, INSEE said.

Exports rose 3.1 per cent last year, compared with a gain of 4.7 per cent in 2017, while imports were up 1.1 per cent after a rise of 4.1 per cent.

 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.