Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 22, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance's private sector contracted for the ninth month in May, with services PMI at 47.4 and manufacturing PMI at 49.5, reflecting ongoing economic challenges.
By Sudip Kar-Gupta
PARIS (Reuters) -France's private sector continued to contract in May, marking the ninth consecutive month of decline, as weakness in the services sector weighed on the euro zone's second-biggest economy, according to S&P Global's HCOB Flash France PMI survey.
The flash PMI for France's dominant services sector stood at 47.4 points in May from 47.3 in April, marking the ninth month in a row in which it has been below the 50 points level signalling a contraction in activity.
Any figure below 50 points shows a contraction while above 50 shows an expansion.
A Reuters poll had forecast 47.5 points for the May flash services figure.
The flash PMI for the manufacturing sector in May rose to 49.5 points, up from 48.7 in April and ahead of a Reuters poll which had forecast 48.9 points.
The flash composite PMI - which comprises both the manufacturing and services sectors - for May stood at 48.0 points, exactly in line with a Reuters poll forecast and up from 47.8 in April.
However, that composite PMI figure also marked the ninth consecutive month in which it had been below the 50 points level and therefore in contraction territory.
"France's private sector remained subdued in May. The Flash Composite PMI continues to signal contraction, reflecting the
economic challenges France is facing amid domestic political instability and a fragile macroeconomic environment," said Hamburg Commercial Bank junior economist Jonas Feldhusen.
"Despite improvements in manufacturing and President Macron's recent efforts to position France as an attractive destination for investment, research and development, the overall outlook for the private sector remains bleak, as seen by the business outlook falling sharply in May, especially in the service sector," he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Toby Chopra)
The PMI indicates that France's private sector has contracted for nine consecutive months, with the services sector particularly weak.
In May, the flash PMI for the services sector was 47.4 points, while the manufacturing sector rose to 49.5 points.
A PMI figure below 50 indicates a contraction in the sector, while a figure above 50 signals expansion.
Economic challenges in France are attributed to domestic political instability and a fragile macroeconomic environment.
President Macron has made efforts to position France as an attractive destination for investment, research, and development.
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