France’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI edged down to 50.0 in March 2026 from 50.1 in February, undercutting the flash estimate of 50.2 and pointing to broadly stagnant operating conditions. Factory output contracted for the first time this year, weighed down by softer domestic and external demand, while new orders declined at the fastest pace in five months amid a wave of cancellations and postponements.
Suppliers’ delivery times lengthened markedly—the sharpest deterioration since January 2023—due to logistics disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East. Manufacturing employment slipped slightly, and stocks of purchases fell for the first time in three months.
On the cost front, input prices climbed at their steepest rate since December 2022, driven by higher oil, electricity, metals, and chemical prices. Although output charges rose to a three-year high, they remained relatively subdued and lagged well behind the increase in input costs. Business confidence weakened further, easing to a five-month low.
