France escaped the worst of the financial crisis but chatter about a weak French economy is beginning to spread. The data is beginning to paint a troubling picture:
- Markit April services PMI 50.3 vs 51.3 exp
- Markit April manufacturing PMI 50.9 vs 51.9 exp
- March CPI y/y 0.6% vs 0.7% exp (and 0.9% prior)
- Feb consumer spending -0.3% y/y vs +0.7% exp
- Today’s jobseekers report hit a record
- French President Hollande’s popularity is at a record low
Some comments from vacation rental site HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples also caught my eye:
We’re seeing weaker traffic growth in Europe than the US but a lot of blame can depend on France in particular, so France is particularly weak within Europe. I was there four, five weeks ago for several days and there is no question that the French economy is struggling compared to other EU countries like Spain and Germany would seem to be in recovery mode. In France, I remember I met with several reporters, I did a TV interview and a couple of magazine interviews and the first question was inevitably how is your company faring through the current French financial crisis? And I didn’t realizing being back here in the US that it was as big a deal as it was when I was out there.
Keep an eye on French April consumer confidence numbers due Tuesday and March consumer spending on Wednesday.
