paris oct 5 reuters  activity in the french services sector expanded in september albeit by a bit less than initially forecast a survey showed on wednesday as worries about inflation lingered sp global said its final french services purchasing managers index pmi rose to 529 points in september from 512 in august which had marked a 16month low the final september figure was slightly below a flash forecast of 530 points data published last month showed that frances annual inflation rate slipped back to 62 in september from 66 in august although inflation within the broader euro zone zoomed past forecasts to a record high of 10 in september the slight pickup in french service sector activity growth in september does little to ignite hopes that this is the start of a sustained improvement other survey indicators like new orders which despite rising for the first time since july point to underlying weakness as the measure remained bogged down in subdued territory said sp global market intelligence senior economist joe hayes inflationary pressures meanwhile intensified in september primarily as a result of surging energy prices added hayes