A Cruise Ship Seems to Have Given France’s Economy an Unexpected Boost
The delivery of a ship raised French exports and expanded the economy more than economists had predicted.
A cruise ship at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France, on Sept. 12, 2018.
Photographer: Marlene Awaad/BloombergBonjour et bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I’m Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent. If you haven’t yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter.
Did a cruise ship save the French economy in the second quarter? That’s the sense one gets from the statistical small print behind a shock 0.5% GDP boost (more than the 0.1% predicted). While consumer spending fell and investment barely flatlined — in a three-month period that saw rising interest rates and several days of violent protests — exports were stoked by “the delivery of a cruise ship.”