French Consumer Confidence Stays Subdued

The consumer confidence indicator in France remained unchanged at 86 in September 2026, above market expectations of 85 but below its long-term average of 100. Consumers became slightly more pessimistic about their expected financial situation (-14 vs -13 in August), while sentiment toward their past financial situation improved slightly (-26 vs -27). Pessimism over major purchase intentions eased (-37 vs -39), while the opportunity to save declined to 44 from 46 and both current (17 vs 20) and expected (15 vs 17) saving capacity weakened. Meanwhile, households’ unemployment expectations remained elevated at 55, while sentiment toward France’s past standard of living deteriorated slightly (-81 vs -80) and the outlook improved to -60 from -62. The savings climate index fell to 121 from 125. Perceptions of past price increases rose to 33 from 26, while inflation expectations improved to -9 from -13.

The consumer confidence indicator in France remained unchanged at 86 in August 2026, below the expected 87 and its long-term average of 100. Consumers became slightly less pessimistic about their expected financial situation (-12 vs -13 in July), while sentiment toward their past financial situation worsened slightly (-27 vs -26). Pessimism over major purchase intentions increased (-39 vs -37), while saving intentions reached a new all-time high (47 vs 45) and both current (20 vs 19) and expected (18 vs 17) saving capacity improved. Meanwhile, households’ fears of unemployment rebounded (58 vs 55) and remained above their long-term average, while sentiment toward France’s future standard of living deteriorated slightly (-62 vs -60). The savings climate index rose to a new high of 125 from 124. Inflation expectations rebounded sharply (-14 vs -33), while perceptions of past price increases also rose (25 vs 17).

The consumer confidence indicator in France rose to 86 in July 2026, a four-month high, up from 84 in June, but remained below its long-term average of 100. Consumers became less pessimistic about both their past financial situation (-26 vs -28 in June) and expected financial situation (-14 vs -16), while sentiment toward France's future standard of living improved sharply (-59 vs -65) and views on past living standards also became less negative (-79 vs -81). Pessimism over major purchase intentions also eased (-36 vs -38), while saving intentions (45 vs 41) and both current (19 vs 16) and expected (17 vs 14) saving capacity increased. Households' fears of unemployment cooled (55 vs 61) but remained above their long-term average. Meanwhile, the savings climate index rebounded to 123, while inflation expectations dropped sharply (-33 vs -15), returning close to their pre-Middle East conflict level.