The French economy is resisting better than expected and the prospect of a 'hard landing' for the French economy should be avoided, said European Central Bank (ECB) member and Bank of France head Francois Villeroy de Galhau on Wednesday.

"Activity in France is showing a better than expected resistance," Villeroy told Radio Classique.

The French economy probably grew slightly in the final quarter of last year as business activity picked up after refinery strikes in October and as more nuclear plants came back on line, the Bank of France had said earlier on Wednesday.

The euro zone's second-biggest economy is likely to have grown by 0.1% in the final three months of 2022 from the previous quarter, the Bank of France estimated, drawing on findings from its monthly survey of 8,500 business leaders. (Reporting by Bertrand Boucey; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)