French industrial production fell by a worse-than-expected 0.3 per cent in April, data showed today.
"Industry (output) overall decreased 0.3 per cent versus March, essentially due to a strong decline in energy," the national statistical office INSEE said, adding that energy output declined 4.8 per cent month-on-month.
Industrial production excluding energy, agri-food businesses and construction, which INSEE considers the best measure of manufacturing output, rose 0.5 per cent in April versus the previous month. Output of consumer goods rose 0.7 per cent, it said.
The output data came two days after new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin laid out his new government's major policies.
Mr Villepin, who was named prime minister after French voters rejected the European Union constitution, said he would abandon previously planned income tax cuts to help fund new jobs. He also announced measures to help small firms.
The head of French business group MEDEF said Villepin's plan to create jobs was a small step in the right direction. But trade unions and opposition parties said the plans would not help cut unemployment from a five-year high of 10.2 per cent.
French voters consistently rate joblessness as their number one concern in opinion polls, and economists say persistently high joblessness risks weighing on consumer spending and dampening economic growth.