French economy sheds jobs

For the first time in a decade, the French economy shed 30,000 jobs last year as manufacturing slumped and growth was sluggish, according to figures published on Friday evening by the French statistics agency.

The manufacturing sector in France has been hit especially hard by the economic slow-down with 100,000 jobs lost in the past 12 months.

But the picture is not entirely gloomy for the French economy. Job growth went up in the last three months of the year and this pattern i...