France: Economic sentiment decreases in March
Latest reading: Economic sentiment came in at 96.4 in March, down from February’s 98.5. Consequently, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The deterioration was broad-based: The headline print reflected weaker sentiment in the industrial, construction, services and retail sectors. Moreover, consumer confidence softened in March.
Regarding indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations improved, while the economic uncertainty index decreased in March.