After an extremely dynamic first quarter 2011, economic activity in France remained unchanged in the second quarter, due to the continuation and deepening of the sovereign debt crisis in the Euro zone. In the second half of 2011, growth remained verymodest, against a background of budgetary consolidation measures and a persistently high unemployment rate. At the end of the year, the GDP in France increased by an annual average of 1.7% in 2011, after increasing by 1.4% in 2010 (Source: Insee (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies).