French manufacturers’ sentiment in October 2023 has seen a more significant drop than anticipated, according to recent data from Insee. The confidence index fell from 99 in September to 98, undercutting the long-term average of 100. This indicates a fragile state of confidence among French manufacturers, surpassing the decrease to 98.5 that economists from The Wall Street Journal had projected.
Manufacturers have shown notable pessimism about future production. This decrease in sentiment comes at a time when the eurozone, where France is the second-largest economy after Germany, is preparing for slower growth this year, according to forecasts by the European Union.
Despite this overall trend in the eurozone, France is expected to buck the trend and secure a 1% growth for 2023, as detailed in a report by Joshua Kirby (NYSE:). This growth expectation for France stands in contrast to the general anticipation of slower growth within the eurozone and the current pessimistic outlook among French manufacturers.
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