French industrial production slumped 0.8% in October, badly missing expectations of a small gain, as the run of bad news on the economy continues, FastFT reported. Economists had expected industrial production to climb 0.2% month-on-month, after stagnating in September. Manufacturing data were also disappointing, with production by the sector falling 0.2% in October, and last month’s 0.6% gain being revised down to 0.3%. French industrial production is now 1% lower than it was a year ago, and manufacturing production 0.6% smaller – both figures being worse than expected. France has avoided a recession this year, but its economy remains stagnant and high unemployment is taking a heavy toll.
