Financial News: French Manufacturing Confidence Strengthens In May

French Manufacturing Confidence Strengthens In May

05/22/2026 - 08:17:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Confidence among French manufacturers improved further in May and remained above its long-term average, survey results from the statistical office INSEE showed Friday.

The manufacturing confidence index rose to 102.0 in May from 100.0 in April. The score was forecast to remain stable at 100.0.

The increase in May mainly came from the further marked improvement in the balance of opinion on past production, the survey said.

The balances of opinion associated with the past production improved notably to 14 from 4. The index measuring overall order books rose slightly to -14 from -15 in April, and the foreign order books balance also rose to -10 from -12.

Meanwhile, the indicator for personal production expectations eased to 4 from 6, and that for general production outlook remained negative and stable at -17.

Evolution of workforce size, both past and expected, remained negative in May. The index for past workforce size was stable at -3, and the expected workforce size decreased to -2 from -1.

The index measuring the expected trend in selling prices over the next three months increased to 22 from 20 in the previous month.

Further, the survey showed that the overall business confidence index, which is calculated from the responses of the business managers from manufacturing, construction, services, retail, and wholesale trade, held steady at 94. The business climate was clearly deteriorated in retail trade and more slightly in services.

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