BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) – Germany posted strong growth in the first quarter of the year in stark contrast with France: the euro zone’s second largest economy failed to expand at all and Italy, the third largest, went into reverse. France was expected to pale in comparison but had still been forecast to grow by 0.2 percent. Inventory changes and public spending were the only factors which kept the French economy from contracting while Germany’s performance was driven largely by domestic demand.