PARIS (Reuters) – France’s manufacturing sector contracted further in April as new orders fell and the impact of protests against the government’s plans to increase the retirement age hit business, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The HCOB France manufacturing final purchasing managers index (PMI) for April, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 45.6 points from 47.3 in March. The figure was broadly in line with a flash April PMI manufacturing figure of 45.5 points.
Readings below 50.0 point to a contraction in activity, while above that shows growth.
While France’s dominant services sector has shown growth this year, by contrast the manufacturing sector has been consistently weak.
“Manufacturing production plummeted in April,” said Norman Liebke, economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank AG.
“The companies surveyed attributed the decline in production primarily to weak demand from customers. Furthermore, the ongoing protests against the much-discussed and already-passed pension reforms were cited as another reason why production declined,” Liebke said.
In April, President Emmanuel Macron signed into law a bill to progressively push up the age for drawing a state pension to 64 from 62, but protests against the measure have continued.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
