 Carmakers such as Renault are looking to emerging markets for growth |
Strong sales of cars, perfume and books boosted French industrial production in February, fresh official figures show. Output rose 1.1% from January, said Insee, the statistical office. Analysts had expected a figure closer to 0.5%.
France is preparing for its first round of presidential elections, in which the state of the economy and the outlook on growth and employment are key issues.
The higher output pointed to a stable economic environment, though exports remain weak, analysts said.
Numerous factors
Mathieu Kaiser, an economist at BNP, called the figures reassuring, saying they allowed observers "to bridge the gap between the business confidence surveys and real activity in the sector".
According to the latest Insee figures, car production rose by 4.7% in February.
Production of consumer goods rose 1.2%, while output of products such as minerals and electronic components increased by 1.3%.
"What's great is that the improvement is across the board," said Alexander Law, chief economist at Xerfi.
If there was a concern, it was that the French economy was being driven by consumer rather than export demand, analysts said.
Companies have complained that a strong euro, coupled with high running costs, put many of them at a disadvantage when competing with foreign rivals.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Voters' give their views 
