Bank of France sees 0.1% growth for French economy in Q2

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters) - France's economy should grow by 0.1 percent in the second quarter, the Bank of France said in its monthly business survey on Wednesday, at the top end of its previously estimated range.

The French central bank had previously forecast second quarter growth of 0.0%-0.1%, a slowdown from growth of 0.2 percent in the first quarter.

France, the euro zone's second-biggest economy, is facing potential headwinds after this month's parliamentary election resulted in a hung parliament, with no political party winning an outright majority.

Olivier Garnier, director general of statistics at the Bank of France, said it was too early to gauge the economic impact of any political deadlock, while the Paris Olympic Games could have a positive impact to counterbalance this.

"The effects of this political uncertainty would more likely be seen in the third quarter, while any temporary, positive effects from the Olympics would also be seen in the third quarter," he told reporters.

France's official statistics body said earlier this week that the Olympics - which take place later in July and August - could add 0.3 percentage points to French economic growth in the third quarter.

However, credit rating agencies such as Moody's and S&P Global have warned of negative impacts to the French economy from the country's hung parliament.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Christina Fincher)