The French economy grew by a sickly 0.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2002 to leave annual growth at 1.2 per cent, its weakest since 1996.
National statistics office INSEE said gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter, which saw revised growth of 0.3 per cent when compared to the preceding three months.
In line with market expectations, the fourth-quarter figure was the weakest in a year and further crushed hopes of a swift end to the stagnation in the euro zone's second biggest economy.
For 2002 as a whole, growth came in at 1.2 per cent, at the top end of market expectations after the third quarter was revised up from 0.2 per cent but still putting a damper on the outlook for 2003, already clouded by fears of a war in Iraq.
French Finance Minister Francis Mer admitted today that France would not achieve its official 2003 growth target of 2.5 per cent, which economists have long said is around half a percentage point too high. The government is due to complete a review of its forecasts in March.
French consumer confidence plunged in January to its worst level in five years, as a rash of job cuts fanned employment worries and the threat of a US-led war in Iraq loomed.