In March, for the second consecutive month, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for France rose. The index now stands at 126.5 (1990=100).
GDP, adjusted for inflation, also is on the rise, increasing to a 2.7% annual rate in the second half of 2005 from just a seven-tenths-percent rate during the first six months of last year.
"The recent behavior of the leading index suggests that moderate economic growth is likely to persist in the near term," says the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
