French private sector activity at 4-year low

French private sector business activity fell to a four-year low in January, a provisional indicator released Thursday by the IHS Markit group showed, amid protracted anti-government "yellow vest" protests.

A reading of the sector as a whole fell to an indexed 47.9 points from 48.7 the previous month, an IHS statement said, marking the biggest contraction in activity in more than four years.

Any figure below 50 indicates a decline in business activity, and January was hit in particular by a drop in the service sector amid recurrent protests by the "yellow vest" movement against government reforms and the globalised French economy.

It was the latest sign that economic clouds have gathered over France, where growth has slowed markedly in recent months and is expected to reach just 1.5 percent for 2018 according to the central bank, after 2.2 percent in 2017.