Markit Economics released final services purchasing managers' index (PMI) for France on Thursday. France's final services purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to 50.6 in August from 52.0 in July, down from the preliminary reading of 51.8.

The decline was partly driven by a weaker rise in new business and backlogs.

"The French service sector lost further momentum in August, with activity growth slowing to a seven-month low. Prospects for third quarter GDP therefore look softer, following stagnation recorded in the second quarter. The survey's bright spot was the strongest business expectations reading for almost three-and-half years, signalling that companies are becoming a little more hopeful of a revival over the coming year," Senior Economist at Markit Jack Kennedy said.