Economists are wrong to believe a 331-metre-long cruise ship was mainly responsible for dragging the French economy out of its recent rut in the three months to June, according to the country’s statistics office.
The delivery of the MSC Euribia from the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard on France’s west coast in May led to a surge in the country’s exports. Many economists assumed this was the main reason for France’s stronger than forecast quarterly gross domestic product growth of 0.5 per cent, which gave the overall eurozone a much-needed uplift.
However, the national statistics office Insee told the Financial Times the boost to exports on delivery of the €1bn-plus ship was almost totally wiped out by a corresponding reduction of its value from French inventories, as is standard practice in such cases.