The French economy grew by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year, picking up speed after a 0.2% increase in the previous three months.
The improvement came on the back of more buoyant consumer spending and a sharp rebound in companies' investments, the INSEE national statistics agency said today.
A poll of 36 analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast 0.4% growth for the euro zone's second-largest economy in the three months to the end of December.
However, the end-of-year pick-up was not enough to push French growth for 2016 as a whole above the 1.2% registered in 2015, with 2016 GDP growth standing at 1.1% when correcting for working days, INSEE said.
"Household and business confidence stand at a very high level and are auguring a very dynamic start to 2017, in terms of activity as well as job creation," French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said in a statement.
Consumer spending, the traditional engine of the €2 trillion economy, rebounded 0.6% in the fourth quarter after barely registering any growth in the previous six months.
This period had had been marred by strikes against labour reforms and lower tourist spending following a deadly Islamist attack in Nice.
In a positive sign for the coming year, investment spending sharply picked up, with companies ramping up investment by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, while households' reached 0.9% as the property market improved.
Leading indicators such as Markit's purchasing managers index showed activity in the French private sector has started the year on a solid footing, reaching levels not seen in more than five and a half years in January.
The pick-up in French growth also comes amid signs of a more robust recovery in the wider euro zone.
Analysts said that France's presidential elections pose the "greatest existential risk for Europe," although they added that supportive European Central Bank policies could limit the elections' impact on the market.
