France

France’s troublesome unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since the depths of the eurozone crisis, with an impressive drop from 10 per cent to 9.6 per cent in the three months to March, the Financial Times reported. Double digit unemployment has been a persistent bug bear of the French economy, where the jobless rate has climbed above the eurozone’s average and is well above Germany’s record-low levels around 3 per cent. The March drop was ahead of expectations of no change and is the lowest since 2012.

The world's largest independent aircraft leasing company, AerCap said on Tuesday there was "good solid demand" for the wide-body jets, after concerns surfaced in the U.S. about weak demand for the most widely traded types of jets, Reuters reported. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have announced plans to defer deliveries of long-haul passenger planes, amid reports of a looming glut of capacity of such aircraft as planemakers bring out various new models while still upgrading old ones.

France’s economic growth is expected to climb back to around its historical average following the election of its centrist president, accelerating from disappointing expansion at the start of the year, according to the country’s central bank, the Financial Times reported. Latest estimates from the Bank of France forecast a 0.5 per cent GDP expansion in three months to the end of June – the period encompassing the two round presidential vote which culminated in the election of Emmanuel Macron last weekend.

With just three days to go before the final round of French elections, a sense of calm pervades markets as Emmanuel Macron looks set to prevail over rival Marine Le Pen, Bloomberg News reported. Risk gauges show investors are mostly ruling out the possibility of a presidential win by anti-euro candidate Le Pen after they pared hedging following her centrist opponent’s thumping victory in the preliminary ballot. Opinion polls consistently indicate a 20 percentage point advantage for Macron, and a snap survey by polling firm Elabe adjudged him the winner in a television debate on Wednesday.

French carmaker PSA Group said its first-quarter revenue rose 4.9 percent, as the first results of a new product offensive helped to overcome negative currency effects, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Revenue advanced to 13.63 billion euros (£11.62 billion) from 13 billion a year earlier, the maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars said on Wednesday. At its core automotive division, revenue rose a more modest 2.5 percent to 9.02 billion euros.

Private-equity backed French clothing retailer Vivarte, in talks to restructure more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of debt, has sealed a deal with its lenders, chairman and chief executive Patrick Puy told French newspaper Les Echos, Reuters reported. Vivarte, which has put up several of its brands for sale under the restructuring, could announce the sale of its Pataugas shoe brand to a private investor within two weeks, he added. The debt restructuring plan, which was agreed by all of the retailer's 172 creditors, calls for the conversion of 846 million euros of debt into equity.

Peugeot struck a more than €2 billion ($2.1 billion) deal to buy General Motors Co.’s unprofitable European operations, a daring move by a French auto maker that is still early in its own financial recovery, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal, announced Monday, ratchets up Peugeot’s share of the growing European car market to 16%, passing French rival Renault SA for No. 2 in the region behind Volkswagen AG in terms of volume.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen envisions the protective hand of the state guiding a reordered economy that punishes companies that fail to serve the interests of the nation and rewards those that put France first, the International New York Times reported on an Associated Press story. In a speech on Wednesday, Le Pen laid out the nationalist policies based on "economic patriotism" that would be put enacted if she wins the two-round presidential election.

Struggling French nuclear reactor maker Areva on Wednesday reported a €665m net loss for 2016, which was an improvement on the previous year but still highlighted the scale of the problems facing the group, the Financial Times reported. The state-controlled company is undergoing a far reaching restructuring in a government-backed deal after losses brought it to the brink of collapse. The company recorded a net loss of €2bn for 2015 and €4.8bn for 2014.

Bond markets may have been roiled by the prospect of Marine Le Pen as president of the eurozone’s second largest economy but the country’s households and businesses are taking it in their stride, the Financial Times reported. They’ve started the year in bouyant mood, reaping the benefits of a broader uptick in job creation and consumer spending seen across the eurozone in recent months.