PARIS, March 26 (Reuters) - French consumer confidence was mired in gloom in March, but remained just clear of record low levels, national statistics office INSEE said on Thursday.
Consumer morale registered a reading of -43 this month, unchanged from the February level and better than a consensus forecast of -44. The historic low of -48 was set last July.
INSEE said French households were slightly more pessimistic about the outlook for their future standard of living, while there was a slight improvement in perceptions about peoples' financial situation.
The French economy, like much the rest of the developed world, is expected to contract sharply in 2009, with unemployment surging and industrial demand slumping.
Up to 3 million protesters took to the streets of France last week to denounce the government's handling of the economic crisis and to demand more help for struggling households. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Victoria Main)