French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said Thursday the French economy was currently growing at an annual pace of between 2.0 and 2.5 percent and was making the most progress in Europe.

"Growth is firmly established between 2.0 and 2.5 percent," he told the French parliament, noting "France is the economy in Europe that is progressing at the fastest pace."

"Today, the figures are not known, but all the forecasters tell us that for the first quarter it (growth) should be about 0.6-0.7 percent" compared with the previous quarter, he said.

He forecast that the unemployment rate, which he stressed had fallen from 10.2 percent to 9.5 percent in less than 10 months, would fall "below the level of 9.0 percent by the end of the year" and to about 8.7 percent in 12 months.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said earlier at a press conference that the GDP growth since the start of the year has been at a pace of more than 2 percent, saying the acceleration was due to government actions.

He cited increased public investment, efforts to spur research and innovation, and certain tax.

He also said the government expects industrial investments this year to grow 5 percent, the strongest rise since 2000.

Source: Xinhua