France Trade Gap Broadens in December

France’s trade deficit widened to €4.8 billion in December 2025 from a revised €4.0 billion in November. Imports rose 3.0% month-on-month to €57.9 billion, led by transport equipment (+10.3%), mechanical and electronic equipment (+2.1%), and refined petroleum products (+8.0%). By region, imports increased from the Middle East (+24.6%), Asia (+8.6%), the Americas (+5.6%), and the EU (+0.3%), but fell from Africa (-4.1%). Meanwhile, exports grew 1.8% to €53.1 billion, supported by mechanical and electronic equipment (+6.3%), agri-food products (+2.4%), and natural hydrocarbons (+11.1%), partially offset by declines in refined petroleum products (-10.2%), transport equipment (-2.2%), and agricultural products (-2.5%). Regionally, exports rose to the Middle East (+27.1%) and Asia (+12.1%), but fell to the Americas (-3.8%), Africa (-3.3%), and the EU (-0.4%). For the full year, the trade gap narrowed slightly to €69.6 billion from €79.0 billion in 2024.

France’s trade deficit widened to €4.2 billion in November 2025 from a revised €3.5 billion in November, in line with expectations. Imports rose 2% month-on-month to €56.4 billion, led by agricultural products (+10.0%), mechanical equipment (+2.7%), and other industrial products (+1.8%). By region, imports increased from Africa (+32.5%), the Middle East (+14.4%), and Asia (+2.6%), but fell from the Americas (-0.7%) and the EU (-0.2%). Meanwhile, exports grew more moderately by 0.8% to €52.2 billion, supported by stronger sales of agricultural products (+2.3%), mechanical and electronic equipment (+1.3%), and transport equipment (+0.3%). These were partially offset by declines in shipments of refined petroleum products (-12.3%), agri-food products (-0.3%), and publishing and communication products (-2.7%). Regionally, exports rose to the EU (+2.9%), Africa (+3.6%), and the Americas (+12.0%), but fell to the Middle East (-28.6%) and Asia (-3.0%).

France’s trade deficit narrowed sharply to €3.9 billion in October 2025 from €6.4 billion in September, well below expectations of €6.8 billion and marking the smallest gap since December 2024. Exports slipped 0.5% month-on-month to €51.7 billion, weighed down by lower sales of agricultural and aquaculture products (-3.0%), mechanical and electronic equipment (-3.8%), and other industrial goods (-1.8%). By region, exports fell to the EU (-4.9%), the Americas (-6.4%), and Africa (-1.8%), while shipments surged to the Middle East (+65.5%) and Asia (+6.2%). Meanwhile, imports declined at a faster 4.6% to a four-year low of €55.6 billion, with broad-based drops across most categories, including natural hydrocarbons (-23.8%), agricultural products (-7.5%), transport equipment (-3.8%), and refined petroleum (-3.1%). Regionally, imports decreased across all major partners, the EU (-3.6%), Africa (-2.1%), the Americas (-10.1%), Asia (-4.5%), and the Middle East (-14.5%).