French economy 'solid' despite turbulence: Minister

PARIS: French economic fundamentals remain "solid" despite market turbulence and the eurozone debt crisis, Finance Minister Francois Baroin said Friday.

"I am very confident because we have economic fundamentals that are solid," he told RTL radio following the release of official figures showing growth in France was stagnant in the second quarter.

The minister said that the growth figures were disappointing but added that the country was still on course to reach its official target of 2.0pc growth for the year.

On the eurozone he said that there was a need to speed up consideration of modifying the governance of the zone, amid calls for stronger economic integration.

He said the topic is expected to come up when President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet in Paris on Tuesday.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010