According to the statistics released by France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the country's manufacturing production in March this year decreased one percent compared to February, after a month-on-month increase of 0.8 percent recorded in February. In the first quarter of the current year, output decreased in the domestic manufacturing sector by 4.2 percent, while a 3.2 percent decrease was seen in output in overall French industry, both compared to the first quarter of 2012.
In March, France's production in manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, fell by 2.2 percent, the production of the motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers industry increased by four percent, while the output of the construction industry fell 0.7 percent, all compared to the previous month.
In the first quarter, France's production in manufacture of basic metals and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, fell by 0.6 percent, while production of France's motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers industry decreased by four percent, both compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. In the first quarter, the output of the construction industry in France fell 3.8 percent quarter on quarter.