INSEE said the figure was revised following new data with lower industrial production in the transport sector and lower consumption of services in the third quarter.

INSEE said earlier this month it expects France's economy to contract by 0.2 percent in the final quarter of this year.

President Francois Hollande's Socialist government, which is struggling to tackle the stagnant economy and rein in France's public finances, has forecast overall economic growth of 0.3 percent in 2012.