On February 20, France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) announced that confidence levels in the domestic manufacturing sector remained stable month on month in February this year, with the relevant index remaining on the unfavorable side, following a survey carried out among French business leaders.
The business leaders polled considered that activity levels have slowed down in the French manufacturing industry, while stocks of finished products are stable above normal levels, and both overall and export orders have stopped declining but stay at low levels.
In addition, activity in the French manufacturing industry is expected to remain weak in the coming months. The general production outlook, which represents business leaders' opinion on French industry as a whole, has improved slightly but stays below the long-term average.