French consumer spending fell at a faster than expected pace in September as households spent less on cars, textiles and leather goods.
Statistics office INSEE said today that consumer spending, the driving force for Europe's second-biggest economy, fell 2.7 per cent from the previous month and rose 2.9 per cent from a year earlier.
But economists said the fall was a natural correction after a summer spending spree.
August's month-on-month figure was revised down to 3 per cent from a previously reported 3.3 per cent, which had been the highest rate in nearly seven years.