France’s consumer confidence index dropped 5 points to 80 in October, the lowest
reading since 2013, Insee said. The figure missed the Bloomberg median of 85 and
was below all surveyed economists’ forecasts. Households reported growing
concern about their finances, living standards and unemployment; inflation
expectations rose, with a larger share of households expecting prices to
increase over the next 12 months. Insee noted the data may understate the full
effect of recent unrest: the survey cutoff was Oct. 19 and most responses were
collected early in the three‑week field period. The decline follows a period of
bond‑market selling and protests that escalated into riots. The index has
remained below its long‑run mean of 100 for five years amid persistent inflation
and political and budgetary instability.
