Bank of France says economy stalled in fourth quarter

The French economy stalled in the final quarter of 2011, a central bank survey said, but industry output jumped unexpectedly in November and analysts said this was a sign of resilience to the eurozone debt crisis. The Bank of France said a monthly survey where it sounds out thousands of companies suggested zero growth at the end of 2011.
Its measure of industry activity and sentiment picked up very slightly in December, however, and a separate report showed industry output in the eurozone's second-largest economy grew 1.1 percent in November.