France’s trade deficit widened to €6.7 billion in July 2026 from €5.8 billion in June, exceeding the expected €6.0 billion shortfall. Imports rose 1.8% month-on-month to €61.3 billion, driven by higher purchases of transport equipment (+6.6%), natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (+7.0%), and publishing and communication products (+13.5%). By origin, imports increased from the Middle East (+64.0%), the EU (+0.9%) and Asia (+1.2%), while declining from Africa (-6.0%) and the Americas (-1.3%). Meanwhile, exports rose at a softer 0.3% to €54.7 billion, led by natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (+14.5%), other industrial products (+1.4%), and agricultural, forestry and aquaculture products (+0.1%), while transport equipment (-0.9%) and mechanical, electronic and computer equipment (-0.4%) declined. By destination, exports increased to the EU (+3.4%) and the Middle East (+7.0%), while shipments to Africa (-4.1%), the Americas (-0.7%) and Asia (-1.6%) fell. source: Ministère de l'Économie et des Finances

France recorded a trade deficit of 6669 EUR Million in July of 2026. Balance of Trade in France averaged -2033.24 EUR Million from 1970 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 2674.00 EUR Million in October of 1997 and a record low of -15717.80 EUR Million in July of 2022. This page provides the latest reported value for - France Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. France Balance of Trade - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2026.

France recorded a trade deficit of 6669 EUR Million in July of 2026. Balance of Trade in France is expected to be -6300.00 EUR Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the France Balance of Trade is projected to trend around -5000.00 EUR Million in 2027 and -4800.00 EUR Million in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-08-07 06:45 AM
Balance of Trade
Jun €-5.8B €-7.7B €-6.5B € -5.6B
2026-09-08 06:45 AM
Balance of Trade
Jul €-6.7B €-5.8B €-6B €-6.1B
2026-10-07 06:45 AM
Balance of Trade
Aug €-6.7B €-6.5B €-6.5B


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Balance of Trade -6669.00 -5750.60 EUR Million Jul 2026
Current Account -4717.00 -1591.00 EUR Million Jul 2026
Exports 54676.50 54488.30 EUR Million Jul 2026
Imports 61345.50 60238.90 EUR Million Jul 2026


France Balance of Trade
Since 2004, France has been recording trade deficits due the gradual erosion of the export-oriented industry, the appreciation of the euro and the increasing dependency on imports of energy and manufactured products. The biggest trade deficits were recorded with: China, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium; while the biggest trade surpluses were recorded with: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Switzerland.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-6669.00 -5750.60 2674.00 -15717.80 1970 - 2026 EUR Million Monthly

News Stream
France Trade Deficit Widens Beyond Forecast
France’s trade deficit widened to €6.7 billion in July 2026 from €5.8 billion in June, exceeding the expected €6.0 billion shortfall. Imports rose 1.8% month-on-month to €61.3 billion, driven by higher purchases of transport equipment (+6.6%), natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (+7.0%), and publishing and communication products (+13.5%). By origin, imports increased from the Middle East (+64.0%), the EU (+0.9%) and Asia (+1.2%), while declining from Africa (-6.0%) and the Americas (-1.3%). Meanwhile, exports rose at a softer 0.3% to €54.7 billion, led by natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (+14.5%), other industrial products (+1.4%), and agricultural, forestry and aquaculture products (+0.1%), while transport equipment (-0.9%) and mechanical, electronic and computer equipment (-0.4%) declined. By destination, exports increased to the EU (+3.4%) and the Middle East (+7.0%), while shipments to Africa (-4.1%), the Americas (-0.7%) and Asia (-1.6%) fell.
2026-09-08
France Trade Deficit Narrows More Than Expected
France’s trade deficit narrowed to €5.8 billion in June 2026 from €7.9 billion in May, smaller than the expected €6.5 billion, as exports rose while imports declined. Exports rose 2.6% month-on-month to €54.5 billion, led by natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (+22.1%), transport equipment (+3.2%), and mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (+1.3%). By destination, exports increased to the Middle East (+28.4%), Africa (+12.3%), the Americas (+3.1%) and Asia (+2.3%), while shipments to the EU fell 1.2%. Meanwhile, imports fell 0.9% to €60.4 billion, as lower purchases of transport equipment (-5.2%), natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (-7.7%), and refined petroleum products (-3.7%) partially offset higher purchases of mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (+4.8%). By origin, imports rose from Asia (+5.1%) and the Americas (+1.2%), while declining from the EU (-0.4%), Africa (-3.0%) and the Middle East (-34.0%).
2026-08-07
France Trade Deficit Largest in a Year
France's trade deficit widened to €6.9 billion in May 2026 from €5.4 billion in April, exceeding expectations of a €5.2 billion shortfall. This marked the largest trade gap since April 2025, as exports fell 2.0% month-on-month to €53.6 billion, weighed down by lower shipments of mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (-4.4%) and natural hydrocarbons and other extractive products (-4.5%). By destination, exports declined to the EU (-0.9%), Africa (-17.0%), and the Americas (-3.2%), while rising to Asia (+9.9%) and the Middle East (+14.4%). Meanwhile, imports increased 0.7% to €60.5 billion, driven by higher purchases of refined petroleum products (+10.2%), transport equipment (+3.9%), other industrial products (+1.1%), and mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (+1.0%). By origin, imports rose from the EU (+1.1%) and the Middle East (+38.4%), remained broadly unchanged from Asia, and declined from the Americas (-3.8%) and Africa (-8.8%).
2026-07-07