French consumer confidence improved in December to provide positive news to the conservative government as it seeks to boost household morale after three weeks of urban unrest last November.
French statistics office INSEE said its consumer morale index rose to minus 30 from minus 33 the month before.
In the month of November, which was marked by riots by youths in France's poor suburbs, the reading had hit the lowest level since the series began in November 2003.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected household morale to improve to minus 31 in December.
The report was good news for the government, which is seeking to boost consumer spending in an effort to revive economic growth and to cut the jobless rate from 9.6 per cent.
Recent data showed that an increase in business investment helped French economic growth accelerate in the third quarter of 2005, with gross domestic product rising by 0.7 percent.
But German retail sales fell 1 per cent month-on-month in real terms in November, a drop that surprised economists who had predicted no change.
Surveys published by retail lobby groups had already pointed to a lacklustre November start to the Christmas shopping period and had dampened economists' expectations.
Still, a stronger December appeared to have supported overall sales in the end.