The business climate in France improved significantly ahead of the third lockdown in the regions most affected by the coronavirus, which could help to avoid a further decline in GDP in the first quarter.
The composite index stood at 97, up 7 points over a month, and reaching its highest level since the beginning of the health crisis. The rise was due to improved conditions in the services sector and in retail trade.
In industry, after three months of improvement, the business climate was stable in March. This stabilisation is mainly due to the automotive industry where the business climate is clearly deteriorating, probably due to the difficulties encountered by the sector in the supply chain, while it is improving in the other segments.
It should also be noted that the business climate remains very depressed in the aeronautics industry, stagnating at 79, well below the historical average of 100.