French economy expanded 0.4% in Q3 with Paris Olympics, INSEE says

PARIS (Reuters) - French economic growth beat estimates by accelerating by 0.4% in the third quarter 2024, from 0.2% in the second quarter, due to the impact of the Paris Olympic Games, preliminary data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had, on average, forecast gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.3% for the third quarter.

An influx of tourists attending the Paris Olympics boosted consumer spending, which grew 0.5% in the third quarter after a flat performance in the second .

This preliminary estimate was in line with expectations provided by INSEE in September, when it trimmed its forecast for third quarter GDP growth in the euro zone's second-biggest economy to 0.4%, from 0.5% previously.

Finance Minister Antoine Armand welcomed the news in a post on the X social network, saying it reflected "the strength of our economy, which supports employment and the purchasing power of the French.

"This is an achievement for the coming months which will be reinforced by declining inflation, lower interest rates and the reforms undertaken by the government."

After weeks of struggling to find a new prime minister, President Emmanuel Macron named conservative political veteran Michel Barnier in September, who now faces the difficult task of getting the 2025 budget approved and bringing down the deficit in the deeply divided post-election parliament.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Lincoln Feast and Alex Richardson)