· French IP is on the mend. Yr/Yr its decline has been reduced to under a 5% drop, at -3.8%. Over six months IP is expanding at a growth rate of 6.1%. Output of consumer durable goods is holding back the recovery although output of consumer durables rose in November. Auto output surged in November.

· France is seeing output rise in Q4 at a very modest annual rate pace of 0.5%. Consumer durables output is falling at a 7% annual rate in Q4. Consumer nondurables and capital goods output are creeping ahead in the new quarter. Intermediate goods output is rising at a strong 6.3%.

· The industrial sector globally is making a strong recovery from a disastrous drop in the recession. France’s recovery is about as advanced as that in any major industrial country. Still it has lost some momentum. This recovery continues to go in fits and starts. France’s IP advance in November is heartening but it does not turn up the speed of the expansion in any clear way.