PARIS (Reuters) - France's car sales recovery picked up in March, the CCFA industry association said on Wednesday, with national champions PSA Peugeot Citroen (>> PEUGEOT) and Renault (>> Renault) both showing strong gains as mid-market brands bounced back.

The CCFA raised its 2015 forecast after monthly registrations rose 9.3 percent to 196,572 cars. Corrected for this year's additional sales day, the year-on-year gain was a more modest 4.3 percent but still stronger than February's.

"France is on trend to catch up with the European market growth rate," CCFA chief Patrick Blain said.

The industry group raised its market forecast from "stable" to a 2 percent gain this year, close to many industry predictions for Europe as a whole.

With unemployment stuck at about 10 percent, many French consumers stayed away from showrooms throughout 2014 while demand recovered steadily elsewhere.

But the pace of sales picked up in January, leading to a 6.9 percent expansion for the French market in the first quarter, with mid-market brands recovering from deep declines.

PSA Peugeot Citroen posted a 7.9 percent sales increase, led by the Peugeot brand's 12 percent advance. The Renault marque's 13 percent gain more than made up for a near-10 percent drop at low-cost Dacia, with group registrations up 8.1 percent.

Ford (>> Ford Motor Company), which suffered more than most in the downturn, posted a 19 percent rise in March, with Toyota (>> Toyota Motor Corp) up 18 percent and Fiat Chrysler climbing by 12 percent.

European market leader Volkswagen's (>> Volkswagen AG) French car sales rose only 1.7 percent.

Delivery van registrations also rose nearly 11 percent in March, the CCFA said, taking the overall gain in French light vehicle sales to 9.5 percent.

(Editing by James Regan and David Goodman)

By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume