France’s manufacturing business climate index rose to 103 in August 2026, above the expected and July’s 101, remaining above its long-term average. This marked the strongest reading since January, mainly reflecting a sharp rebound in personal production prospects to 9 from -1 in July and an improvement in foreign order books to -8 from -12. Past production eased to 5 from 7 but remained positive, while overall order books held steady at -12. The stronger sentiment was also supported by a further decline in finished-goods inventories to 6 from 11 and easing economic uncertainty, which fell to 28 from 30 for a fourth month. Meanwhile, the general production outlook remained subdued at -11, while expected selling prices edged up to 11 from 9. Employment indicators were mixed, with past staffing slipping to -1 from 0, while expected staffing rebounded to 1 from -3. By sector, transport equipment confidence strengthened, while other manufacturing rose to its highest in four years. source: INSEE, France

Business Confidence in France increased to 103 points in August from 101 points in July of 2026. Business Confidence in France averaged 100.02 points from 1976 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 125.20 points in June of 2000 and a record low of 65.70 points in March of 2009. This page provides the latest reported value for - France Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. France Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on August of 2026.

Business Confidence in France increased to 103 points in August from 101 points in July of 2026. Business Confidence in France is expected to be 99.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the France Business Confidence is projected to trend around 99.00 points in 2027 and 102.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-07-23 06:45 AM
Business Confidence
Jul 101 100 101 99
2026-08-21 06:45 AM
Business Confidence
Aug 103 101 101 100
2026-09-24 06:45 AM
Business Confidence
Sep 103 99


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Business Climate Indicator 98.00 97.00 points Aug 2026
Business Confidence 103.00 101.00 points Aug 2026
Capacity Utilization 76.69 76.68 percent Jul 2026
Changes in Inventories -2343.00 3691.00 EUR Million Jun 2026
Industrial Production -0.10 3.10 percent Jun 2026
Industrial Production MoM 0.10 -0.10 percent Jun 2026
Manufacturing Production -1.70 2.50 percent Jun 2026
Mining Production -7.00 0.70 percent Jun 2026
New Orders -11.90 -14.30 points Jul 2026


France Business Confidence
In France, Business Climate measures industrial entrepreneurs’ sentiment about current business situation and expectation about business conditions. The survey sample comprises about 4,000 enterprises in the manufacturing and mining industries. The indicator is calculated using factor analysis technique. The index is then calculated in a way to measure the current sentiment in relation to the historic index values of the period 1993-2011. A value over 110 indicates unusually high optimism and a value under 90 indicates unusually high pessimism. The value 100 indicates neutrality.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
103.00 101.00 125.20 65.70 1976 - 2026 points Monthly
SA

News Stream
France Industry Confidence Strongest in 7 Months
France’s manufacturing business climate index rose to 103 in August 2026, above the expected and July’s 101, remaining above its long-term average. This marked the strongest reading since January, mainly reflecting a sharp rebound in personal production prospects to 9 from -1 in July and an improvement in foreign order books to -8 from -12. Past production eased to 5 from 7 but remained positive, while overall order books held steady at -12. The stronger sentiment was also supported by a further decline in finished-goods inventories to 6 from 11 and easing economic uncertainty, which fell to 28 from 30 for a fourth month. Meanwhile, the general production outlook remained subdued at -11, while expected selling prices edged up to 11 from 9. Employment indicators were mixed, with past staffing slipping to -1 from 0, while expected staffing rebounded to 1 from -3. By sector, transport equipment confidence strengthened, while other manufacturing rose to its highest in four years.
2026-08-21
France Manufacturing Confidence Improves Slightly
France’s manufacturing business climate index edged up to 101 in July 2026 from 100 in June, in line with market expectations and remaining close to its long-term average. Past production rebounded to 7 from 3, while the general production outlook improved for a third straight month to -10 from -15, nearing its historical norm. However, personal production expectations weakened to -1 from 3, the lowest since August 2025. Order books also improved, with the global balance rising to -12 from -14, while foreign orders held steady at -12, both remaining above their long-term averages. Finished goods inventories fell sharply to 10 from 16, dropping below average. Expected selling prices declined markedly to 9 from 20, signaling easing price pressures, while perceived economic uncertainty eased to 30 from 31. Employment indicators were mixed, with past staffing improving to 0 from -1 and expected staffing slipping to -3 from 0.
2026-07-23
France Manufacturing Sentiment Weakens
France’s manufacturing business climate index fell to 100 in June 2026 from 102 in May and below expectations of 101. While the general production outlook improved slightly to -15 from -17, it remained negative. Personal production expectations also weakened to 2 from 4, and expected staffing was flat at 0, signaling muted hiring intentions. There was also a sharp drop in past production to 3 from 14, while order conditions were broadly stable, with global order books unchanged at -14 and foreign order books edging down to -11 from -10, though both remained above long-term averages. Meanwhile, price pressures eased, with expected selling prices declining to 19 from 22, and perceived economic uncertainty falling to 32 from 37. Finished-goods inventories rose slightly to 14 from 13, indicating modest stock rebuilding. Labour market indicators were steady overall, with past staffing unchanged at -2, suggesting broadly stable employment conditions.
2026-06-23