French industrial output rose 0.8 percent in February, driven mainly by a rebound in production of consumer goods after a drop in January that raised doubts about recovery prospects in the eurozone's second-largest economy.
In a report published on Friday, when most big European and North American financial markets stayed closed for a holiday, statistics office INSEE also revised the size of January's drop to 0.7 from a previously reported drop of 0.5 percent.
Economists polled by Reuters in advance had predicted a rise of around 0.7 percent in February versus the preceding month.
INSEE said consumer goods output rose 1.2 percent, noting surges of 5.3 percent in clothes and textiles and 3.7 percent in household equipment after a winter discount sales period when there were major purchases of such goods.