French 2013 growth seen well below 1 pct - Noyer

PARIS, Sept 16 (Reuters) - France's economic growth will improve gradually in 2013, but will remain "considerably below" 1 percent, Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer said in an interview to appear in Les Echos on Monday.

Noyer, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's Board of Governors, said the outlook for the crisis-hit euro zone had brightened after the ECB's unveiling of its unprecedented bond-buying plan and a legal green light for Germany to ratify the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

However, weak French growth in 2012 would have a knock-on effect on the outlook for 2013.

"We can reasonably expect a gradual turnaround in growth in 2013, with an average that should remain considerably below 1 percent, given the lack of a growth overhang at the end of 2012," Noyer told Les Echos.

He also said German concerns about the inflationary impact of the ECB's bond-buying plan were overdone, as the central bank would "sterilise" the bond purchases by removing the additional cash from the system.