French business activity has grown more than forecast in April, a monthly survey showed on Friday, as brisk activity in the services sector offset lingering weakness in manufacturing in the euro zone's second-biggest economy.

The April HCOB Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) flash reading for France's dominant services sector compiled by S&P Global stood at 56.3 points - up from 53.9 in March and beating forecasts for a reading of 53.4 points.

Any figure above 50 points marks an expansion in activity, while below 50 shows a contraction.

By contrast, the HCOB flash PMI for manufacturing fell to 45.5 points in April from 47.3 in March and was below forecasts for a reading of 47.8 points.

The flash reading for the April composite PMI - which comprises both the services and manufacturing sectors - rose to 53.8 points from 52.7 points in March. It also beat a forecast for an unchanged 52.7 points.

Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) economist Norman Liebke said that while recent protests in France against plans to increase the retirement age had hit the manufacturing sector, they had not impacted services.

"Surprisingly, no traces of the protests are visible in the services sector. The positive performance of the French economy in April is entirely due to the services sector, as it has been in the past three months," said Liebke.

"The French economy is starting the second quarter on a positive note with the services sector, which accounts for around 80% of the economy, improving in April at the strongest pace since May 2022," he added. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)