The French government has revised down its growth forecast for this year, predicting the economy will contract 3.0 percent, a source close to Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Monday.

The French government previously estimated that the economy would shrink by 1.5 percent this year and recover gradually in 2010, when the economy would grow 1.0 percent.

The economy would recover then and was expected to grow 0.5 percent in 2010, the source said.

The source said household consumption, a main propeller of France's economic growth, should "hold up in principle" and remain steady.

The government sees household consumption growing 0.3 percent in 2009 and 0.7 percent in 2010, while investment is expected to decline 9.4 percent in 2009 and 1.2 percent in 2010, according to local media reports.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2009)