A closely watched survey is showing that the protests that brought much of France to a standstill in December weighed on economic activity across the 19-country eurozone, with growth at its slowest in more than four years.
Financial information company IHS Markit said Friday that its composite purchasing managers index — a broad gauge of economic activity across the manufacturing and services sector — declined to 51.1 in December from 52.7 the previous month. An equivalent fall in January would effectively see the eurozone in recession territory as anything below 50 indicates a contraction in output.
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The survey found that the slowdown in growth during December in part reflected lower activity in France, where yellow vest protesters reportedly led to a first fall in economic output for two-and-a-half years.
