French budget deficit stood at 123.1bn euros at end-August

• France's budget deficit stood at 123.1 billion euros ($135 billion) at the end of August, compared with a deficit of 97.3 billion euros a year earlier.
• The INSEE official statistics agency forecast this week that the French economy would maintain a quarterly economic growth rate of 0.3pc throughout 2019.

The INSEE official statistics agency forecast this week that the French economy would maintain a quarterly economic growth rate of 0.3pc throughout 2019, as a firm job market would help it cope with an uncertain global economic backdrop.