PARIS—France and Germany saw bigger than expected drops in consumer confidence this month as rising inflation and concern about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took their toll, surveys showed on Tuesday. The European Central Bank insists the euro zone can avoid recession, but the collapse in consumer morale in its two top economies is a setback. Italy, the third largest economy, is due to downgrade its growth targets, sources in Rome said. In Germany, the GfK institute said its consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of around 2,000 people, dropped to -15.5 points heading into April from a revised -8.5 points a month earlier and the lowest since February 2021. “In February, hopes were still high that consumer sentiment would recover with the easing of pandemic-related restrictions. However, the war in Ukraine caused these hopes to vanish into thin air,” GfK consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said in …