France's economy unexpectedly contracted in Q3 as higher borrowing costs, violent protests and political and budgetary uncertainty weighed on activity. Insee said GDP fell 0.1% QoQ, driven by continued investment decline and weaker exports. The slowdown will complicate deficit control: the government cut this year's GDP growth forecast to 0.5% and abandoned plans to slightly narrow the deficit gap. Insee warned that if activity stagnates in Q4, full-year 2026 output growth would be just 0.2%. Th

France's economy unexpectedly contracted in Q3 as higher borrowing costs, violent protests and political and budgetary uncertainty weighed on activity. Insee said GDP fell 0.1% QoQ, driven by continued investment decline and weaker exports. The slowdown will complicate deficit control: the government cut this year's GDP growth forecast to 0.5% and abandoned plans to slightly narrow the deficit gap. Insee warned that if activity stagnates in Q4, full-year 2026 output growth would be just 0.2%. The print arrives the same day Germany, Italy and Spain are due to publish growth figures.