According to a survey conducted in January 2025, it seemed that the majority of French respondents were not confident about the future of the economic situation in France. On the other hand, only 19 percent of those surveyed were confident.

France's economic dynamics have been calculated since 1832. It was in the first half of the 20th century that France experienced its strongest historical recessions. The impact of the two World Wars was terrible for the French economy. In 1918 and 1941, the economy fell by more than ** percent compared to the previous year. The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis caused fears of a *** percent drop in the French economy according to Deutsche Bank experts.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for France from the Peak through the Period preceding the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (FRARECDP) from 1960-02-01 to 2022-09-30 about peak, trough, recession indicators, and France.

France’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered one of its lowest growth in 2009 (-2.9 percent). One year after the 2008 financial crisis, France faced economic issues. The unemployment rate in the country went from 7.4 percent in 2008 up to 9.1 percent in 2009. Since then, France’s GDP at current prices remained stable, being the second or third largest economy in Europe depending on the year. However, in 2020, during the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the gross domestic product decreases by 7.5 percent in volume. By 2024, it had re-increased by 1.6 percent The evolution of France’s GDP This graph shows that the real GDP in France reached its highest growth in 2021 with 6.9 percent and its lowest in 2020 with -7.4 percent. Apart from these two years and 2009, France’s GDP growth fluctuated between 0.3 and 3.9 percent. The GDP, which is an economic construct that measures a country’s production, is an important indicator of the economic strength of this country. Public debt in France Since 2007, the public debt of France continuously rose reaching 111 percent of the GDP in 2023. France appears to be one of the industrialized countries that borrowed the most abroad and has a public debt higher than the Euro Zone average. In absolute numbers, the country's debt amounted to approximately 3.3 trillion US dollars in 2023.

France GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: Low data was reported at -3.316 % in 30 Jan 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of -3.214 % for 23 Jan 2022. France GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: Low data is updated weekly, averaging -6.667 % from May 2020 (Median) to 30 Jan 2022, with 91 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -2.188 % in 14 Nov 2021 and a record low of -19.123 % in 10 May 2020. France GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: Low data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.OECD.WT: GDP Growth Tracker: Weekly.

France's total budgetary expenditure in 2025 was nearly 844 billion euros. The first item of expenditure was Refunds and rebates, with more than 148 billion of investment. Advances to local authorities were the second sector of public investment with more than 134 billion euros. The COVID-19 recovery plan Following the economic crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, the French government has opened a budget of 36 billion euros for 2021. This recovery plan is intended for individuals, companies, local authorities, and administrations and is based on three themes: the economic, social, and ecological reconstruction of the country. Added to this budget is the emergency plan for the health crisis with aid to businesses.This vast plan, initiated at the very beginning of the crisis, has made it possible to limit the increase in unemployment in France, thanks to partial unemployment and the company closures through subsidies and state loans at zero interest. The economic model in the face of debt Although the economy is rapidly liberalizing in France, its economic system is still based on the principle of the welfare state, which intervenes regularly in the country's economy and finances to ensure that social services are developed for the well-being of its citizens.But this model is very expensive, the country keeps having a rather high debt level. In 2024, the public debt in France reached 112 percent of the GDP.

Since 2008, and despite the beginning of the financial and economic crisis, France’s GDP has increased gradually. In 2023, the GDP of France reached ***** billion euros, compared to ******* billion euros in 2008. However, with the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it had fallen by almost ***** percent by 2020. Member of the European Union and of the G7, France is one of the leading industrialized country worldwide and in Europe. In 2024, the country's GDP amounted to ******* billion euros. A GDP that is expected to increase in the coming years For a few years now, the GDP of France has increased every year. Only 2009 and 2020 marked a decline in GDP compared to the previous year. Studies have shown that the GDP of France is supposed to increase in the years to come. In 2028, the GDP of France is expected to reach ***** billion U.S dollars. Projections of the real GDP of the country have also shows that it is supposed to grow by between *** and **** percent from 2023 to 2028. An economy that is doing better According to World Bank, services contributed to more than ** percent of the GDP of France. France is ranked in the top 20 export countries worldwide, despite a share of the industry sector in the GDP which has declined in the past years. The country has seen its number of exporting companies rising since 2016, with ****** billion U.S dollars worth of goods which were exported from France that year. France had a total business economy annual turnover of *** trillion euros in 2020 and its employment rate has remained steady in the past years.

France GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: High data was reported at 0.580 % in 30 Jan 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.366 % for 23 Jan 2022. France GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: High data is updated weekly, averaging -1.947 % from May 2020 (Median) to 30 Jan 2022, with 91 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.509 % in 27 Jun 2021 and a record low of -8.530 % in 10 May 2020. France GDP Counterfactual Tracker: % Change from Pre-Crisis Trend: High data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.OECD.WT: GDP Growth Tracker: Weekly.

Between 2010 and 2024, public spending by the French state has varied between approximately 55 and 62 percent of the country's total GDP. While in 2019, the share of spending reached 55.3 percent of GDP, the rate climbed more than six points in 2020. The economic crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic in France has caused a surge in public spending to support the economy, households, and businesses.

The Government is fully mobilised to address and ** protect the country from the economic and social consequences** of the COVID-19 crisis. A support plan provided an immediate and strong response to cushion the first shock. In order to prepare the French economy for the challenges ahead in the coming years, the “France Relance” plan was presented on 3 September 2020, the result of a broad national consultation set up to draw lessons from the crisis. Three components are identified: ecology, competitiveness and cohesion. In order to give more visibility to all French people on the implementation of the Recovery Plan, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery publishes a scoreboard to monitor the progress of the main measures of the three strands of “France Relance”. The indicators are updated monthly. The public scoreboard presents the main indicators contained in these data. The dashboard is available at this address.

Einstellungen zur Europäischen Union. Themen: Einstellung zu folgenden Aussagen zur europäischen Integration: garantiert den Frieden auf dem Kontinent, macht Frankreich stärker gegenüber dem Rest der Welt, trägt zum Wohlstand Frankreichs bei; präferierte Entscheidungsebene für Maßnahmen gegen die Wirtschaftskrise: nationale oder EU-Ebene; bisherige Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskrise als gemeinsames Handeln der europäischen Länder oder eher nationalen Interessen folgend; Einstellung zu ausgewählten Vorschlägen: mehr Kontrolle der nationalen Haushalte durch die EU, stärkere Regulation der Finanzmärkte, strengere Kontrolle von Ratingagenturen, Einführung einer Finanztransaktionssteuer, Annäherung der Steuersysteme der Mitgliedsstaaten, Programm zur Belebung des Wirtschaftswachstums, Importverbot auf Produkte aus bestimmten Ländern, Reziprozität im internationalen Austausch, Entscheidungen auf EU-Ebene auf Basis qualifizierter Mehrheiten und nicht einstimmig; gut informiert über die französische bzw. die europäische Politik; Forderung an Politiker und Medien nach mehr Informationen über die Europäische Union; Zufriedenheit mit der derzeitigen persönlichen Situationen und erwartete Entwicklung für die nächsten drei Jahre; Links-Rechts-Selbsteinstufung. Demographie: Alter; Geschlecht; Alter bei Beendigung der Ausbildung; berufliche Stellung; Staatsangehörigkeit; Region; Urbanisierungsgrad; Besitz eines Mobiltelefons; Festnetztelefon im Haushalt; Anzahl der Personen ab 15 Jahren im Haushalt (Haushaltsgröße). Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Interviewmodus (Mobiltelefon oder Festnetz); Gewichtungsfaktor. Attitudes towards the European Union. Topics: attitude towards the following statements on European integration: guarantees peace on the continent, makes France stronger against the rest of the world, contributes to France’s prosperity; preferred decision level for measures against the economic crisis: national or EU level; management of the economic crisis to date as joint action of the European countries or following national interests; attitude towards selected propositions: increased monitoring of national budgets by the EU, increased regulation of financial markets, stricter monitoring of rating agencies, introduction of a financial transaction tax, harmonization of the taxation systems of the member states, programme to stimulate economic growth, ban on imports of products from certain countries, principle of reciprocity in international exchange, decisions on EU level on the basis of a qualified majority and not unanimously; respondent feels well informed about political life in France and in the EU, citizens need more information on the EU given by French politicians, citizens need more information on the EU given by the media; satisfaction with the current personal situation and expected development for the next three years; left-right self-placement. Demography: age; sex; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; nationality; region; type of community; own a mobile phone and fixed (landline) phone; household composition and household size. Additionally coded was: type of phone line; weighting factor.

In 2014, after a few years of sharp decline, the purchasing power in France reached *** percent. In 2013, the purchasing power in France experienced its strongest decline since 2007. With a decrease of ** percent compared to the previous year, French purchasing power reached a level lower than the one attained in 2008 during the economic crisis. It had never been so low, even in 2020 with the economic crisis due to COVID-19. The decline of French purchasing power Purchasing power, which is the quantity of goods and services that an income can buy, is linked with the inflation rate and the disposable income of households. In France, the inflation rate peaked in 2008 with *** percent. After a decline from 2011 to 2015, the inflation rate has been increasing between 2015 and 2018 in France, reaching *** percent in 2018. It amounted to *** percent in 2023. This had a strong impact on the purchasing power of French households since the average annual household disposable income in France remained stable since 2005. An important issue in the French public debate The purchasing power has always been a sensitive topic within French public debate. In 2019, during the Great National Debate launched after the Yellow Vests movement, the purchasing power was mentioned as the priority issue that should be addressed during the debate. Most of the French public perceived the economic policy pursued by Emmanuel Macron and his Prime Minister, as having a negative impact on their purchasing power.

In 2020, consuming products produced in France seemed to be an important economic issue. Indeed, for the majority of the people interviewed, consuming local or French products was important in order to be able to support the French economy, which seem have been seriously affected by the global economic crisis. Only ** percent of respondents disagreed with this idea.

Presentation of the plan France Relance Through the Recovery Plan, the Government mobilised to address and protect the country from the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. In accordance with a commitment of the President of the Republic, the authorities are asked to publish data on the measures of the recovery plan on data.gouv.fr. The publication of these data should make it possible to enhance the commitment of the State to ensure the recovery of France, to facilitate the assessment of the implementation of the measures of the recovery plan, to allow the work of researchers and to contribute to enhancing the transparency of public action, while preserving business secrecy, fiscal secrecy and statistical secrecy in particular. ## Description of data In order to give more visibility to all French people on the implementation of the Recovery Plan, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Relance publishes a scoreboard to monitor the progress of the main measures under the three strands of “France Relance” (ecology, competitiveness and cohesion). The published scoreboards present the main indicators by the end of December 2020. Number of industrial projects supported — Number of monuments belonging to local authorities or private actors selected for renovation — Number of young people entering the CIE (employment initiative contracts) and PEC (job pathway skills) — Number of MaPrimeRénov files accepted — Number of apprenticeship contracts receiving exceptional assistance — Number of export cheques and VIE cheques (international corporate volunteering) — Number of cathedrals and national monuments selected for renovation — Number of ecological bonuses and conversion bonuses paid — Number of State buildings selected for energy renovation — Number of aids paid for the hiring of young people The indicators are updated monthly and are broken down by region and department.

In response to a major health crisis with unprecedented economic consequences, France has responded with exceptional measures to combat the epidemic and support household and business incomes. However, this crisis will have a lasting impact on the economy and public finances. Activity is expected to pick up significantly in 2021 without, however, returning to its level in 2019 and the deficit is still high. Beyond 2021, the government’s stability programme plans a gradual reduction of the deficit to below 3 percentage points of GDP in 2027. As highlighted in its report to the Prime Minister on the public finance strategy for the exit from the crisis, the Court considers it necessary to strengthen the level of potential economic growth and to set the pace of expenditure growth leading to a sufficient reduction of the general government deficit to allow for a decline in public debt by 2027 at the latest.

Attitudes towards the European Union.
Topics: attitude towards the following statements on European integration: guarantees peace on the continent, makes France stronger against the rest of the world, contributes to France’s prosperity; preferred decision level for measures against the economic crisis: national or EU level; management of the economic crisis to date as joint action of the European countries or following national interests; attitude towards selected propositions: increased monitoring of national budgets by the EU, increased regulation of financial markets, stricter monitoring of rating agencies, introduction of a financial transaction tax, harmonization of the taxation systems of the member states, programme to stimulate economic growth, ban on imports of products from certain countries, principle of reciprocity in international exchange, decisions on EU level on the basis of a qualified majority and not unanimously; respondent feels well informed about political life in France and in the EU, citizens need more information on the EU given by French politicians, citizens need more information on the EU given by the media; satisfaction with the current personal situation and expected development for the next three years; left-right self-placement.

Demography: age; sex; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; nationality; region; type of community; own a mobile phone and fixed (landline) phone; household composition and household size.

Additionally coded was: type of phone line; weighting factor.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate in France from 1991 to 2023. In 2023, the unemployment rate in France was around 7.34 percent. Population of France A member of the G7 and G20, France is one of the world's most powerful, advanced and emerging economies. With a total population of around 65 million people, France’s economy must adapt itself to employ the growing population. Although the rates of population growth in the past five years have declined in comparison to the population growth rates between 2003 and 2007, there is still an overall growth in the total population. An important factor that directly affects the French economy is the percentage increase in people who are 65 years of age or older and the percentage decline of people between the ages of 15 and 64 years. Because the percentage of the working population is decreasing, mainly people between the ages of 15 and 64 years, and the median age of the population in France is increasing, the economy must adapt to the growing competition by providing more employment opportunities. With the Eurozone crisis and global financial crisis of 2008, the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in France suffered dramatic drops between 2008 and 2009 in comparison to the previous year. Despite having increased between 2009 and 2013, employment in France has not reached the record high of 2008 again yet. In addition, the unemployment rates in the last decade have increased by almost two percent.

The statistic depicts France's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. In 2024, France's real GDP grew by about 1.07 percent compared to the previous year. Unemployment in France France has one of the largest economies in the world and is the second largest economy in the European Union, behind Germany, with whom France often partnered in order to support the structure of the European Union. France is also the fourth most populated country in Europe and has maintained slow population growth since the mid 2000s. Despite being not only a European but also a global economic power, France struggled with maintaining a low unemployment rate and experienced a significant increase in unemployment after the 2008 crash, just like many other prominent industrial countries. However, unlike these other nations, unemployment continued to rise well into the 2010s, while the employment situations in neighboring and international countries improved almost every year. The lack of working opportunities is related to the Eurozone crisis that primarily affected southern European countries, such as Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Companies in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector have had to shut down their activity the most, since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (COVID-19). Companies in this sector have been closed for an average of almost 100 days. The hotel industry was the second sector most affected by closures. The pharmaceutical industry was the least affected by closures. On average, French companies were closed for 57 days in France.

In 2010, unemployment rate in France reached a record level of 10.4 percent. Unemployment remains a rampant issue for French economy, being stagnant year-over-year since the financial and economical crisis in 2008. During the first quarter of 2018, more than 1.4 million people aged between 25 and 49 years were unemployed in France.

Change in unemployment since 2008

In 2008, year of the financial crisis, unemployment rate in France reached its lowest level since 2004. That year, France had an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent while, one year before it had reached 8 eight percent. Unemployment is an important economic factor for a country and a measure of a region’s economic health. Despite its low level in 2008, unemployment rate in France increased steadily between 2009 and 2016. In 2015, it even reached its highest level since the mid-2000s with a percentage of unemployed people among the French population which was of 10.4 percent. That year, unemployed people represented 11.5 percent of the urban population in France. However, French unemployment rate seemed to be experiencing improvements in recent years. In 2017, long-term employment rate decreased after several years of constant growth.

Unemployment in France and the EU

European markets were particularly affected by the 2008 global financial crisis and the recession which followed. Nevertheless, Unemployment rate in the EU reached 6.5 percent in January 2019, compared to 7.2 percent one year before and the number of unemployed persons in the European Union and the Euro area is declining since 2018. This improvement seems to be affecting France to a lesser extent. France was one of the EU members with the highest unemployment rate in 2019, and youth unemployment still reaches a record number in the country.