French home improvement stores ended 2019 with an increase in sales of 1.79 per cent compared with the previous year. Volume sales exhibited a bigger increase of 1.90 per cent, leading to the conclusion that price levels declined further. In December, the sales increase was 1.45 per cent compared with the same month in 2018. The figures from the Banque de France were published by the French DIY retailers' association FMB. "2019 thus ended on a positive note," concluded FMB president Mathieu Pivain.