France’s trade deficit widened to €7.3 billion in September 2026, up from a revised €6.0 billion in August and exceeding market expectations of a €5.8 billion shortfall. This marked the largest deficit since October 2024.
The deterioration in the trade balance was driven by a 4.0% month-on-month increase in imports, which rose to €62.7 billion. The strongest gains came from refined petroleum products and coke (+24.1%), extractive products, electricity and waste (+7.8%), and mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment (+3.4%). By region of origin, imports increased from the Americas (+7.5%), Asia (+4.2%) and the EU (+2.5%), while they declined from Africa (-5.9%) and the Middle East (-14.3%).
Exports also grew, but at a more moderate pace, rising 2.0% to €55.3 billion. Growth was led by transport equipment (+6.2%), agricultural, forestry and fishing products (+6.5%), and refined petroleum products (+36.8%). In contrast, exports of mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment edged down by 0.4%. By destination, exports increased to the Middle East (+41.5%), Africa (+8.9%) and the EU (+0.9%), but fell to Asia (-1.9%) and the Americas (-1.4%).
