Growth in the French manufacturing sector gained momentum in June, with companies reporting a pick-up in new orders from both domestic and foreign clients and taking on new workers to meet demand, a survey showed yesterday.

Data compiler IHS Markit said its final purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.8 in June from 53.8 in May.

That was slightly lower than a preliminary reading of 55 and brought the index further from the 50-point linedividing expansions in activity from contractions.

“A strong degree of business optimism was also a key feature of the latest survey, perhaps buoyed by reduced political uncertainty following the conclusion to June’s legislative elections and robust economic conditions in the Eurozone,” IHS Markit economist Alex Gill said.

New President Emmanuel Macron won a commanding majority in June’s parliamentary elections, consolidating his win in a presidential election the month before and giving him enough leeway to implement his far-reaching, pro-business reform agenda.