Publicis Groupe reported a 6.5 percent decline in organic growth in Europe during the first-quarter as "2013 is turning out to be a difficult and contrasted vintage, with on the one hand the U.S. consolidating their growth and on the other Europe suffering," according to CEO Maurice Levy.

 The North America market, which generates 50 percent of overall revenues, was up 4.4 percent, while the emerging nations group advanced 5.5 percent.

France and Europe’s southern tier "continue to be main risk areas" for Publicis, which is parent company of MSLGroup and Kekst and Co.  

Levy told investors the firm "saw double-digital declines everywhere south of Belgium."

Overall, Publicis recorded a 1.3 percent rise in organic growth. Reported revenue was up 7.6 percent to $2.1B.

Despite the European blues, Levy expects Publicis to achieve its organic growth target of 3.2 percent to 3.6 percent for the full-year.