French Central bank sees slight economic improvement in Q3

The Bank of France, the country's Central Bank, said in a report Wednesday that the economy here could see a slight uptick in the third quarter, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) predicted to rise by 0.1 percent compared with a flat forecast a month ago. The Bank of France said in its latest monthly report that were was "a slight progression in production" in the industry sector although deliveries and orders were still dropping slightly. There will be a "weak increase in activity in the short term," the report said. In the services sector, activity is on the increase and will improve during August, according to the "first estimate" of economic activity carried out for the third quarter. French political leaders, notably President Francois Hollande and Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, have made positive statements in the past few weeks about the prospects of a recovery, with Hollande claiming "the recovery is here now," and Moscovici predicting a turnaround in 2014 with at least 0.8 percent GDP growth and perhaps even more. Economic observers, however, are more prudent about France's exit from a recessionary period and warn against trying to "talk up the economy" if the fundamentals are not yet there.