French Economy Records Zero Growth In Q1

France’s economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter of this year due to weak domestic demand and a sharply negative contribution from foreign trade. The national statistics agency INSEE reported this on Thursday. The first estimation of the first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) shows the impact of the war in the Middle East, which began on February 28. INSEE had previously forecast a 0.3% growth for January through March, but this was revised down to 0.2% by the end of March. The French central bank had earlier estimated a potential growth of 0.3% for the same period.