Lower labour costs to get growth, IMF tells France

France must step up reforms to liberalise its economy and lower labour costs to get back to growth and improve its competitiveness, the International Monetary Fund has said.

The IMF said the eurozone’s second-largest economy would start turning around in the second half of the year.

On Monday, it halved its 2013 forecast for Germany, the largest economy in the EU, based on uncertainty in other eurozone economies, including neighbouring France.