French economic growth stalled in the second quarter as consumer spending stagnated and firms used up their stocks instead of producing new goods, the INSEE official statistics agency said.
That marked a sharp slowdown from the first quarter when the euro zone's second-biggest economy grew 0.7% over the previous quarter, the fastest growth since the middle of 2013.
INSEE revised down consumer spending slightly to flat in the second quarter from 0.1% growth in its first estimate, and revised the increase in corporate investment to 0.3% from 0.2% previously.
Corporate destocking reduced economic output by 0.5%, while foreign trade added 0.5% as exports rebounded much more strongly than imports.
Though consumer spending is the traditional driver of French growth, the French government is counting on a rebound in corporate investment to fuel a much anticipated economic recovery.
Today's figures showed that corporate profit margins slipped to 31.1% from 31.2% in the previous quarter, when they had jumped as companies benefited from a payroll tax credit scheme designed to restore their competitiveness and boost investment.
