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A recession corresponds to a drop in growth over two quarters.
The French finance ministry said that it still expected a tiny expansion of 0.1 percent for 2013 however.
INSEE also revised lower the fall in purchasing power for French households in 2012 to 0.9 percent instead of a 0.4 percent fall forecast in March.
French growth has been sluggish, hit by record unemployment and falling household demand, the key driver of the economy.