France's Hollande Feels Heat as Economy Lacklustre
President Francois Hollande is hoping to be re-elected next year, but the numbers show the economy expanded by just 0.2 per cent in the third quarter.
It's now highly unlikely that the French government will meet its target for growth this year. The terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice have caused a dip in tourism but consumers are also spending less. By contrast the average growth rate across the eurozone for the same period was 1.6 per cent. We talk to French business journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet about what this means for the country's future - and President Hollande's hopes for reelection.
By contrast Spain's economy appears to be powering ahead. On Saturday, Mariano Rajoy is expected to win a parliamentary investiture vote, meaning he can form a new government. This follows ten months of political stalemate during which time the country did not have a government formally in place. The BBC's Guy Hedgecoe reports from Madrid. Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images
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- Fri 28 Oct 201618:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
