French Business Activity Index Falls to 48.4 in October as Services and Manufacturing Decline
Key Facts
Business activity in France contracted in October, with the flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index falling to 48.4 points from 51.1 in September, according to a Reuters report published via Euronext. The reading came in below the 50.5 points forecast by a Reuters poll for the same month. The index combines surveys of the services and manufacturing sectors, so its reading reflected declines in both. In a separate measure, French household confidence fell to 80 points in October, five points below September. It reached its lowest level since June 2013, according to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
The decline in the confidence index extended the monthly drop, with the September reading at 85 points after being revised from 86, according to the institute’s data. October’s level of 80 points was below the index’s long-term average of 100, calculated for the period from January 1987 to December 2025. The index measures households’ assessment of their economic situation and their expectations, while its fall to the lowest level since June 2013 places October’s reading in the context of persistently weak confidence. Signs of decline were not limited to households; the composite activity index recorded a monthly fall that exceeded the Reuters poll’s forecast. Together, the readings offer a snapshot of simultaneous pressures on consumer confidence and business activity in October.
In services, the French flash index fell to 48.4 points in October from 51.2 in September, according to S&P Global data cited in the Reuters report via Euronext. The report said demand for French goods and services recorded its steepest decline since May. In manufacturing, the flash index fell to 49.3 points from 50.6 in September. The manufacturing reading also came in below Reuters’ forecast of 50.5 points. The month-on-month comparison shows that the decline spanned services and manufacturing, while the composite index reflects the combined result for the two sectors.
Companies surveyed linked the decline in demand to mounting economic pressures and political uncertainty in France, according to the Reuters report. These factors come as household confidence fell to 80 points, its lowest level since June 2013. Services also recorded the steepest drop in demand for French goods and services since May, the report said. The source does not specify how much each factor contributed to the decline, but reports the explanation given by the companies that took part in the survey. The activity indicators cited remain flash readings for October.
In France’s energy sector, North Atlantic Energies says its refinery accounts for more than 20% of national refining capacity. The price set for the simplified mandatory tender offer announced in November 2025 was €28.93 per share, around 10.46% above the price paid to Exxon Mobil, according to a North Atlantic statement published via GlobeNewswire. In September 2026, the company said authorities had approved a 10% increase in the refinery’s diesel and jet fuel output to support national market supplies. The company’s chairman said the first half saw weaker demand and sharp market volatility, and that the cost of financing inventories weighed on net income. These details point to the refinery’s importance to the domestic market, while the company’s remarks reflect the operating pressures it said it faced during the first half.