France: Grassroot protests hit consumer confidence - ING

Julien Manceaux, Senior Economist at ING, points out that the French consumer confidence dropped from 94.6 to 91.6 in November as a wind of revolt blows all over France.

Key Quotes

“More than 250k protesters have taken to the streets in the last few weeks complaining about the increasing prices at gas stations, partly due to the various environment taxes.”

“In November, fears of unemployment rebounded while the French also became more pessimistic about their ability to save. In particular, purchasing intentions took a plunge, which could be a cause for concern for retailers a few weeks before Christmas. One has to go back as far as January 2015 to see levels this low.”