The French unemployment rate will decline in 2010 as the country's economy returns to growth.

That is according to the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who suggested that the country's rising jobless rate will peak at more than ten per cent this year before retreating back into single figures.

Speaking to a small group of French participants in a televised question-and-answer session, the president explained that the heavy burden of social welfare must be reduced to ensure France's long-term economic development.

He said: "In the coming weeks and months, you will see unemployment decline in our country."

According to the latest estimates from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, France's unemployment rate reached ten per cent in December.

Recently, Mr Sarkozy also predicted that gross domestic product increases in 2010 may surpass the 1.4 per cent estimated by the government last year.