PARIS
The French economy saw growth drop to 0 percent between April and June, according to a report by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), released Friday.
The number is lower than the analyst consensus forecast of 0.3 percent.
However, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said the country's economy was still on track to reach the government's target of achieving one percent growth for 2015.
"After a very dynamic first quarter, the level of activity has been maintained. At the end of the first semester, the growth achieved is 0.8 percent, which is in line to hit our target of 1 percent for the year 2015," Sapin told French radio station France Inter.
There was a sharp decrease in household consumption from 0.9 percent to 0.1 percent in the second quarter, while production of goods and services contracted only slightly, the report said.
The INSEE report highlighted strong exports, which grew 1.7 percent in the quarter, up from 1.3 percent in the previous quarter.
The INSEE also revised the percentage of GDP for the first quarter to 0.7 percent, France's fastest pace in nearly two years, against 0.6 percent that was previously announced.
