Moderate French GDP growth in Q2 2025; foreign trade's role negative
Final domestic demand (excluding inventories) was sluggish (zero contribution to growth, minus 0.1 points in Q1 2025).
Household consumption rebounded by 0.1 per cent in Q2 2025 after a 0.3-per cent drop in Q1, while gross fixed capital formation continued to fall—minus 0.3 per cent in Q2 after minus 0.1 per cent in Q1.
French GDP in volume terms accelerated moderately in Q2 2025, increasing by 0.3 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ), after a 0.1-per cent QoQ rise in Q1, official data show. Final domestic demand (excluding inventories) was sluggish (zero contribution to growth, minus 0.1 points in Q1 2025). Foreign trade kept contributing negatively to GDP growth in Q2 2025â€'minus 0.2 points after minus 0.5 points.
Foreign trade kept contributing negatively to GDP growth in Q2 2025—minus 0.2 points after minus 0.5 points. Exports rebounded slightly by 0.2 per cent QoQ in Q2 after a 1.1-per cent drop in Q1, while imports accelerated by 0.8 per cent QoQ in the quarter after a 0.3-per cent rise in the preceding quarter.
Finally, changes in inventories made once again a positive contribution to GDP this quarter: plus 0.5 points after plus 0.7 points in Q1 2025, an INSEE release said.
Production in the manufacturing industry slowed in Q2 2025 to a 0.1-per cent rise QoQ after a 0.5-per cent QoQ increase in Q1. It continued to fall sharply in refineries (minus 10.6 per cent after minus 3.5 per cent in Q1) as a result of maintenance shutdowns at several sites in April and May.
Energy consumption fell sharply by 2.4 per cent after a 0.8-per cent rise in Q1 2025.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
14 hours ago
- Mint
He earned a small towns trust. He owed $95 million in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme
HAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) — For decades, Miles 'Burt' Marshall was the man you went to see in a stretch of upstate New York if you had some money to invest but wanted to keep it local. Working from an office in the charming village of Hamilton, down the road from Colgate University, Marshall prepared taxes and sold insurance. He also took money for what was sometimes called the '8% Fund,' which guaranteed that much in annual interest no matter what happened with the financial markets. His clients spread the word to family and friends. Have a retirement nest egg? Let Burt handle it. He'll invest it in local rental properties and your money will grow faster than in a bank. Marshall was friendly and folksy. He gave away gift bags with maple syrup, pickles and local honey in jars labeled with cute sayings like, 'Don't be a sap. For proper insurance coverage call Miles B. Marshall." 'He would tell you about all the other people that invest. Churches invest. Fire companies invest. Doctors invest,' said one client, Christine Corrigan. 'So you'd think, 'Well, they're smart people. They wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't okay to do ... Why are you going to be the suspicious one?' Then it all came crashing down. Marshall owed almost 1,000 people and organizations about $95 million in principal and interest when he filed for bankruptcy protection two years ago, according to the trustee's filings. This summer, the 73-year-old businessman was indicted on charges that his investment business was a Ponzi scheme. He could face prison time if convicted. Marshall's lawyers declined to comment. Total losses by Marshall's investors fall short of the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme masterminded by Bernie Madoff. But they loom large in the small, college town of about 6,400 people and its largely rural surrounding area. Many investors were Colgate professors, laborers, office workers or retirees. Some lost their life's savings of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Corrigan and her husband, who own a restaurant 30 miles (48 kilometers) east, were owed about $1.5 million. Now they're wondering how someone who seemed so reliable, who held annual parties for his clients and even called them on their birthdays could betray their trust. 'You look at life differently after this happens. It's like, 'Who do you trust?'' said Dennis Sullivan, who was owed about $40,000. 'It's sad because of what he's done to the area.' Marshall and his wife lived in a brick Victorian, blocks from his office. Aside from insurance and tax preparation, he rented more than 100 properties and ran a self-storage business and a print shop. His parents had run an insurance and realty business in the area and the Marshall name was respected locally. Though he quit college, he was a federally enrolled tax professional. To many in the area, he seemed knowledgeable about money and kept a neat office. 'He had French doors and a beautiful carpet and a big desk and he just looked like he was prosperous and reliable," Corrigan said. Marshall began taking money from people to buy and maintain rental properties in the 1980s. People got back promissory notes — slips of paper with the dollar amount written in. Withdrawals could be made with 30 days' notice. People could choose to receive regular interest payments. Participants saw the transactions as investments. Marshall has called them loans. For many years, Marshall made good on his promises to pay interest and process withdrawals. More people took part as word spread. Sullivan recalls how his parents gave Marshall money, then he did, then his fiancee, then his fiancee's daughter, then his son, and even his snowmobile club. 'Everybody gets snowballed into it,' Sullivan said. A number of investors lived in other states, but had connections to the area. The promise of 8% returns was unremarkable in the '80s, a time of higher interest rates. But it stood out later as rates dropped. Marshall told a bankruptcy proceeding that he assumed appreciation on his real estate would more than cover the debts. 'That's obviously false now," he said, according to filings, "but that's what I always thought.' The money stopped flowing by 2023. Marshall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that April, declaring more than $90 million in liabilities and $21.5 million in assets, most of it in real estate. He explained in a filing that he had been been hospitalized for a 'serious heart condition' that required two surgeries, costing him $600,000. As news of his illness spread, there was a run on note holders asking for their money back. The bankruptcy trustee, Fred Stevens, blamed Marshall's insolvency on incompetent business practices and borrowing from people at above-market rates. The trustee contended that by 2011, Marshall was using new investment money to pay off previous investors, the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors claim Marshall falsely represented the profitability of his real estate business and had his staff generate "transaction summaries' with bogus information about account balances and earned interest. Money was funneled into his other businesses and he spent hundreds of thousands of investors' dollars on personal expenses, including airline travel, meals out, groceries and yoga studios, according to prosecutors. Marshall's clients feel betrayed. 'We left it there so that it would accumulate. Well, it accumulated in his pocket,' Barbara Baltusnik said of her investment. Marshall pleaded not guilty in June to charges of grand larceny and securities fraud. He's accused of stealing more than $50 million. Marshall's home and properties were sold as part of bankruptcy proceedings, which continue. People who gave Marshall their money stand to recoup around 5.4 cents on the dollar from the asset sales. Potential claims against financial institutions are being pursued, according to the trustee. Baltusnik said she and her husband were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars and now she wonders how she will pay doctors' bills. Sullivan's mother moved in with him after losing her investment. In Epworth, Georgia, retiree Carolyn Call will never see money she hoped would help augment her Social Security payments. She found out about Marshall though an uncle who lived in upstate New York. 'I'm just able to pay my bills and keep going," she said. "Nothing extravagant. No trips. Can't do anything hardly for the grandkids.'
Fibre2Fashion
18 hours ago
- Fibre2Fashion
Trump hints US may not opt for additional secondary tariffs on India
President Donald Trump recently dropped a hint that the United States may not go ahead with additional secondary tariffs on countries that continue to purchase crude oil from Russia. The hint came following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that ended without any deal to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. Following President Donald Trump's recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska , the former‎ dropped a hint that the US may not go ahead with additional secondary tariffs on countries that continue to purchase crude oil from Russia. "If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it," Trump told a US TV channel. He brushed aside questions about similar penalties for China. "Well, he [Putin] lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot. And if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it," Trump told a US TV channel. This might be a relief for India as there had been worries that the country could face fresh penalties if Washington enforced penalty sanctions. A 25-per cent duty on Indian imports took effect on August 7. Trump later announced an additional 25-per cent levy due to Indian oil purchases from Russia, bringing the total tariff burden on Indian goods exported to the United States to 50 per cent. The second round of duties will start from August 27. Trump also brushed aside questions about similar penalties for China, saying, 'I don't have to think about that now.' Before the Trump-Putin talks, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent had cautioned that if the discussions failed, Washington could raise secondary sanctions on India for purchasing Russian oil. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Supper Clubs Bring Global Tastes to Chennai Homes
With 'Table for Four' Motchamary Pushpam (in orange) and daughter Anita hope to revive dishes disappearing from Puducherry Supper clubs may be trending on Instagram, but try telling Fiammetta Maggio Pereira and Anita de Canaga that. Their reaction? 'Oh, it's a 'thing' now, is it?' Fiammetta, an Italian-born Chennai resident, and Anita, a Puducherrian with a French backstory, have been hosting supper clubs at their homes way before it became a hashtag — Fiammetta to help guests enjoy the present, Anita to let them savour the past. Fiammetta says it began when her Italian cooking classes became a hit. 'The supper club was a natural progression,' says the textile entrepreneur, who runs home furnishing outfit Bottega Pereira. From the verandah of her Madhavaram home, she started hosting al fresco lunches for 12 to 20 guests, serving authentic Sicilian and Ligurian dishes. 'Then Covid hit, and the lunches stopped, but I'm back to hosting,' says Fiammetta. Anita's 'Table for Four' in Puducherry is a blend of French, Tamil and Vietnamese flavours, drawn from recipes passed down through generations. She began the supper club with her mother, Motchamary Pushpam, a decade ago, to revive dishes disappearing from Puducherry. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Gold Rates Today in Chennai | Silver Rates Today in Chennai 'There are also Cambodian and African influences in the food,' says Anita, adding that her grandfather, part of the French administration, spent 40 years in Cambodia and Vietnam, bringing home a mélange of flavours that feature on their menu. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Undo One such inspired dish is 'mutton margandam sambhar', seasoned with vadouvan, a French-Tamil spice blend made with sun-dried ingredients. While Anita and Fiammetta built their guest lists over years, Madhumitha Sriram joined the supper club brigade when the concept began trending. The 22-year-old started Casa Savore a month ago, and now hosts six guests at a time every week in the dining room of her Alandur home. 'We offer a six-course tasting menu, and the cuisine is decided by popular demand,' says Madhumitha. Most supper clubs, including hers, charge upwards of Rs 1,000 a head. Bookings come via Instagram, where guests fill out a Google form to get on the waiting list. 'It's great when strangers come together over a shared love for food but we do the form-filling for safety reasons,' says Madhumitha. Auditor Nithya Kaushik says she signed up for a Casa Savore evening to 'step out of the usual mall-and movie routine'. Her table was a mix of young professionals and graduates on summer break. 'It was a lovely evening of conversations about Chennai. It's nice to hear different perspectives, especially since I've spent all my life here. The food too was interesting — pani puri with a kiwi infusion, for example,' says Nithya. 'In Italy, the pleasure of eating is as much about lingering at the table and talking about food as it is about the food itself. India is similar, and that's what a supper club recreates, that sense of being in the moment and enjoying it,' says Fiammetta Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
