* French economic outlook for 2010 revised up
* Unemployment seen soaring over 10 percent in 2010
* Inflation to reach 1.3 percent next year
By Vicky Buffery
PARIS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - France is set for much higher growth than initially thought in 2010, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday, but mounting unemployment and resurgent inflation could restrain its speed.
Median forecasts from a poll of almost 20 economists conducted between October 8 and 14 found gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 1.0 percent in 2010, a substantial upward revision from the July poll's forecast for a rise of 0.4 percent.
The figure is also more optimistic than the French government's own projection which currently stands at 0.75 percent GDP growth in 2010.
At the same time, the contraction in 2009 will be less pronounced than previously thought, according to the survey, with GDP shrinking 2.2 percent, in line with the government's expectation for a decline of 2.25 percent.
The main factor behind the change in outlook was France's surprise return to growth in the second quarter of the year, when GDP rose by 0.3 percent.
Up until that point, analysts had expected the recovery to kick in at the start of 2010, or at best at the end of 2009.
"It's not that the pace of the recovery has changed, we've just had to bring everything forward," said Frederique Cerisier, an economist at BNP Paribas.
For others, the higher growth also stems from the severity of the destocking phase which took place in the first half of 2009, when manufacturers overestimated the drop in demand.
"The main contributor to growth will be slower inventory rundown," said Jean-Louis Mourier, an economist at French brokerage Aurel-BGC.
"It was so strong in 2009 that even putting in low figures (for stocks) we get a 1.5 percent contribution to growth."
For Mourier, given recent positive signals on the economy, France is only at the start of a wave of upward revisions to growth expectations.
Indeed, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon conceded in an interview on Tuesday that government projections for 2010 were currently seen as overly pessimistic by observers.
But while the outlook has certainly brightened, some economists feel the government's caution is warranted.
The surprise growth seen in the second quarter of 2009 was largely driven by resilient exports and consumer spending and there are doubts over whether these can continue to hold up.
August trade data for France showed exports fell back 9.1 percent after July's rebound, and were only marginally higher than the five-year low reached in April.
At the same time, mounting job losses and higher inflation threaten to curb consumer spending in the months ahead, particularly given the restrictive credit environment.
According to median forecasts in the October Reuters poll, France's unemployment rate will soar to 10.3 percent in 2010, while inflation looks set to hit 1.3 percent after a modest 0.2 percent in 2009.
"Amidst all that, I don't see how you can get a proper recovery," said Alexander Law, senior economist at Paris-based consultancy Xerfi.