It had not been expected that any nation would succeed in ending the recession as early as this, however economic activity in the eurozone also dropped by 0.1%, which means that whilst France and Germany have measured economic growth this cannot be said to be the case for other countries.
The French and German economies had last shown any increase in the first quarter of last year.
Ms Largarde pointed out that consumer spending and strong exports are the factors that have helped her country get out of the recession, and she added that French government incentives for the trading in old cars, as well as falling prices, had been a big help to consumers in France.
