Valeo, the French car parts manufacturer, has launched its first equity-linked deal with a €350m ($402m) bond, a boost to the unusually quiet French convertibles market.

Convertibles issuance from French firms is down 23% at €6.2bn compared with €8.1bn at the same time last year, according to Dealogic, the investment banking research firm. French deals account for only 26% of overall European issuance so far this year, down from 43% at the same time last year.