The German economy is stagnating and France is growing

The two countries have emerged as saviors of Greece ended 2009 with a fall in growth never seen before.

The GDP of France recorded the largest fall since the war, after falling 2.2%. The German scored the worst recession in U.S. history, contracting by 5%.

And what's worse for the German economy. In the last quarter, GDP stagnated. In this period, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew from the previous quarter, when it rose by 0.7%, according to federal statistics office, Destatis.

The German Central Bank (Bundesbank) predicts that the economy registered a growth of 1.6%, one tenth more than expected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, between October and December showed the French economy grew active and triple that in the previous quarter, to increase GDP by 0.6% according to the National Statistics Institute, INSEE.

The household consumption and changes in stored products companies were the main contributors to gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter.
European growth slows

The economic downturn has not affected only France and Germany, but also marked the evolution of European Union countries and the Eurozone in the year 2009.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the EU fell 4.1% last year, while in the euro area fell by 4%, according to data provided by Eurostat statistics office in Luxembourg.

In the last quarter of 2009, GDP in the euro zone rose 0.1% over the previous quarter, and fell three tenths below the growth recorded in the third quarter (0.4%).