[Southack]

"The French GDP grew by 2.1% in 2004. It is on track for a growth of between 1.5 and 2.5% in 2005. This is not a recession, not a decline. It is moderate growth. Faster growth would be better, of course, so long as it were sustainable."

Not really. French GDP is reported with numbers that are not adjusted for inflation.

That's also how the Chinese report their GDP growth.

But the U.S. releases GDP figures *after* inflation (i.e. CPI) has been factored in.

When adding in inflation, France and Germany have had negative GDP growth for some long time.

...But wait, there's more.

France counts its *government* spending in its GDP figures. If France borrows vast amounts of money and spends it all in one year, then France reports GDP "growth" even though all that has grown has been their government (hardly a sustainable option over the long-term).

[jveritas]

I did not know this SouthHack, thank you for the information.

By the way Vicomte13 is saying that the GDP in France is on its track of a growth from 1.5% to 2.5% in 2005 and it only grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2005.