France offers chink of light with surprising Q4 growth

France offered some light to the EU’s economic troubles, revealing surprising growth in the fourth quarter of 2011 as companies invested more and consumers continued to spend, according to new figures.

The eurozone economy’s shrunk at the end of 2011 as the sovereign debt crisis crushed a recovery and looked set to push the bloc into mild recession, but a north-south divide was evident as France grew while Italy slumped, according to analysis by Reuters.

The French figures suggest that the eurozone’s second largest economy may yet avoid a recession this year.