Section 01 — Economy
Growth Stuck in Low Gear, Inflation Reawakened
France's economy grew at barely half the pace of 2024, weighed down by two years of political and budgetary uncertainty. Just as disinflation looked complete, the Middle East energy shock pushed prices — and the ECB's policy rate — back up in 2026.
Fresh — GDP: INSEE Final 2025 · Unemployment: Q1 2026 (INSEE) · Inflation: Jun 2026 (INSEE) · ECB Rate: Jun 2026
Source: INSEE · Banque de France · European Central Bank · European Commission Economic Forecast Nov 2025
GDP Growth 2025
+0.9%
INSEE's final reading for full-year 2025, slowing from +1.1% in 2024. Household consumption rose a modest 0.4% and investment just 0.2%, while net trade subtracted 0.5 points from growth. The European Commission projects a similarly soft +0.9% for 2026 as political and fiscal uncertainty continue to weigh on private investment.
↔ Slowing from 2024, flat into 2026 · INSEE / European Commission Nov 2025
The European Commission attributes France's growth slowdown directly to "economic and policy uncertainty" tied to the country's budget crisis: five prime ministers in under two years, three governments toppled over spending bills, and a National Assembly with no working majority since the 2024 snap election. Business investment stagnated through 2025 as firms waited to see whether — and how — the government would close its deficit.European Commission Economic Forecast for France, Nov 2025 · Banque de France Macroeconomic Projections Dec 2025
Unemployment Q1 2026
8.1%
Up 0.2 points over the quarter and 0.7 points over the year to 2.6 million people (ILO definition) — the highest rate since Q1 2021. INSEE attributes nearly half of the rise since late 2024 to a statistical effect: a new law requiring welfare recipients to register as job-seekers. Youth (15–24) unemployment stands separately at 21.1%.
▲ Highest since 2021, from a 2023 low · INSEE Q1 2026
Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) Jun 2026
1.8%
Easing from 2.4% in May as energy prices decelerated, though still up 11.0% year-on-year on the back of the Middle East conflict's oil shock — petrol +14.4%, diesel +23.2%. Core inflation (excluding energy) slowed to 1.0%. Inflation had troughed near 0.3% in January 2026 before the conflict reignited energy costs.
▼ Easing from May's spike, energy still elevated · INSEE Jun 2026
Inflation had been on a clear downward path through 2025, reaching lows of 0.3–0.9% in early 2026. The Middle East conflict then pushed petroleum and diesel prices up sharply from April, lifting headline CPI to a 2.4% year-on-year peak in May before easing again in June as fuel prices retreated. INSEE's data show the swing was concentrated almost entirely in energy — services and food inflation moved only modestly over the same period.INSEE Informations rapides, Apr–Jul 2026 · Service-Public.gouv.fr consumer price briefing, May 2026
ECB Deposit Facility Rate Jun 2026
2.25%
France does not set its own interest rates — monetary policy for all 20 eurozone members is set jointly by the ECB Governing Council, on which Banque de France sits. The ECB raised rates for the first time in three years in June 2026 (from 2.00%), reversing its 2025 easing cycle as energy-driven inflation risk resurfaced; it held steady at its July meeting.
▲ First hike in 3 years, reversing 2025 cuts · ECB Jun 2026
Current Account Balance
~0.0%
Of GDP in 2025, per European Commission forecasts, projected to turn modestly positive at +0.6% in 2026 and 2027. France's external position has weakened over the past decade from its historically export-driven surpluses, though it remains far from the large deficits seen in some peer economies.
↔ Roughly balanced, modest improvement projected · European Commission Nov 2025
Income Inequality — Gini Index
0.302
INSEE's Gini coefficient for standard of living, 2024 data — its highest level since the series began in 1996, rising for a second consecutive year. The top 20% of earners now receive 4.6 times the income share of the bottom 20%, also a series high, even as median living standards rose in real terms.
▲ Highest on record since 1996 · INSEE 2024
Section 02 — Fiscal Health
A Budget Finally Passed — But the Debt Keeps Climbing
After four months of deadlock, two failed no-confidence votes and a constitutional maneuver, France has a 2026 budget. It narrows the deficit only slightly, and the country's debt — now the eurozone's third-highest — is on track to keep rising through the rest of the decade.
Fresh — Debt: INSEE Q1 2026 · Deficit: INSEE 2025 outturn · Budget: Adopted Feb 2026 · Ratings: confirmed May 2026
Source: INSEE · Agence France Trésor · Cour des Comptes · S&P Global / Fitch / Moody's
⚠ Context: France's general government debt of 117.5% of GDP (INSEE, Q1 2026) is the third-highest in the European Union, behind only Greece (149.7%) and Italy (137.8%), and more than double the EU average of 81.1%. Interest payments on the debt are projected to reach €74–77 billion in 2026 — now exceeding the defence budget excluding pensions.
🏦 Public Finances — 2026 Budget
General Government Debt (Maastricht)
€3,536.1 billion, or 117.5% of GDP, as of Q1 2026 (INSEE) — up from 115.7% the previous quarter. The Cour des Comptes projects the debt stock will rise by more than €160 billion over the course of 2026 alone.
117.5%
of GDP · INSEE
of GDP · INSEE
Government Deficit 2025 (Outturn)
€152.5 billion, or 5.1% of GDP (INSEE) — narrowing from 5.8% of GDP in 2024, on the back of a 0.8-point improvement in the tax-and-contributions ratio. The 2026 Budget targets a further reduction to 5.0% of GDP.
5.1%
of GDP · 2025
of GDP · 2025
2026 Budget — Adopted Feb 2, 2026
Passed after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invoked Article 49.3 of the Constitution to bypass a parliamentary vote; two subsequent no-confidence motions, from the far-left and far-right, both failed after the Socialist Party declined to back them. The budget raises defence spending by €6.5 billion and targets a 5.0% deficit.
Adopted
Feb 2, 2026
Feb 2, 2026
Sovereign Credit Rating
Downgraded one notch by both Fitch (AA-→A+, Sep 2025) and S&P (AA-→A+, Nov 2025), each citing political instability and slow fiscal consolidation; both since confirmed at A+ stable (Mar / May 2026). Moody's holds France at Aa3 with a negative outlook.
A+ / Aa3
Fitch, S&P / Moody's
Fitch, S&P / Moody's
Fitch notes France has run a primary budget deficit in every year since 2001, meaning even before interest costs the government spends more than it collects — a structural pattern the 2026 budget only partially interrupts. Overall social spending sits at 32% of GDP (versus a 26% EU average) and tax revenue at 45.6% of GDP, already the highest in the EU, limiting room for further consolidation. Rating agencies expect the run-up to the 2027 presidential election to further narrow the political space for spending cuts or tax rises.Fitch Ratings sovereign commentary, Sep 2025 · Cour des Comptes "The State of French Public Finances at the Start of 2026," Feb 2026
Section 04 — Governance
Institutions Hold, Politics Doesn't
France's courts, civil service and elections remain internationally respected — but its parliament has been unable to produce a stable majority since the 2024 snap election, and its perceived-corruption score has slipped for two years running.
Fresh — CPI: Feb 2026 · Budget vote: Feb 2026 · Government status: current as of Jul 2026
Source: Transparency International · Assemblée Nationale · Reporters Without Borders
EDITORIAL NOTE: Governance data is presented non-partisan. Government turnover is described as a factual pattern following the 2024 snap election, not an assessment of any party or leader. All figures from internationally recognised independent bodies or official parliamentary records.
27
of 182
CPI 2025
Score: 66
CPI 2025
Score: 66
Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 — Rank 27, Score 66
Transparency International CPI 2025 (Feb 10, 2026). France sits comfortably above the global average of 42 and ahead of the United States (64), but has slipped from 25th place a year earlier, with Transparency International citing "repeated legal political court cases" among the factors weighing on the score. France now ranks behind the UK (70) and Germany.
▼ Down 2 places from 2024 · TI Feb 2026
Transparency International CPI 2025 · transparency.org/en/cpi/2025
5th
PM in
<2 years
<2 years
Government Turnover — Five Prime Ministers Since January 2024
Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier, François Bayrou and Sébastien Lecornu (twice) have each led the government since President Macron's snap 2024 legislative election left the National Assembly with no working majority. Barnier's and Bayrou's governments both fell over budget bills; Lecornu resigned once and was reappointed four days later before ultimately passing the 2026 budget.
↔ Structural feature since 2024 snap election · Assemblée Nationale records
Assemblée Nationale government records · Reuters, AP, Al Jazeera reporting Sep 2025–Feb 2026
Despite the turnover in the Prime Minister's office, France's presidency, courts, civil service, and the Conseil Constitutionnel (which reviews budget laws for compliance) continued to function without interruption throughout the crisis. The 2026 budget was submitted to the Constitutional Council for review after adoption, a routine safeguard step that was exercised as designed.France in English, Feb 2026 · Conseil Constitutionnel institutional role, French Constitution Art. 61
✓
2026
Budget
Adopted
Budget
Adopted
2026 Budget Adopted — Feb 2, 2026, After Two Failed No-Confidence Votes
PM Sébastien Lecornu invoked Article 49.3 of the Constitution to force the budget through without a parliamentary vote; censure motions from the far-left (260 of 289 votes needed) and far-right (135 votes) both fell short after the Socialist Party abstained, following concessions including a partial suspension of the 2023 pension reform. The French debt risk premium over German bunds subsequently fell to its lowest since June 2024.
↔ Ended a 4-month deadlock · Assemblée Nationale, Feb 2, 2026
Reuters, Al Jazeera, Euronews reporting, Feb 2, 2026
Section 05 — France in the World
The World's Most-Visited Country, Its Own Toughest Critic
France still tops the global tourism table and leads the world in nuclear-powered electricity, and its institutions remain in the global top tier for perceived integrity. The flip side: a debt load rating agencies keep downgrading, and a parliament that has struggled to govern since 2024.
Fresh — Tourism: French Economy Ministry, 2025 data · Nuclear share: Ember Energy 2025 data · CPI: Feb 2026
Source: Transparency International · Ember Energy · French Ministry of Economy · S&P / Fitch / Moody's
EDITORIAL NOTE: Wins and gaps shown equally. All from internationally recognised independent bodies. No political judgment.
🏆 Where France Leads
#1
Most-
Visited
Country
Visited
Country
World's Most-Visited Destination — 102 Million Visitors in 2025
A record 102 million international visitors came to France in 2025, up from 100 million in 2024, generating record tourism revenue of €77.5 billion (+9% year-on-year), per the French Economy Ministry. France still trails Spain in tourism revenue (€105 billion), though the ministry notes the gap is narrowing.
↔ Record visitor numbers, 2nd year running · Economy Ministry 2025
French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial Sovereignty, 2025 tourism figures
68.8%
Nuclear
Share
Highest
Share
Highest
Nuclear Energy — World's Highest Share of Electricity Generation
Nuclear power supplied 68.8% of France's domestic electricity in 2025, the highest share of any country worldwide, per Ember Energy. Combined with hydro, over 80% of French electricity comes from low-carbon sources, and France generated only 5.2% of its power from fossil fuels — well below the EU average — making it Europe's largest net electricity exporter.
↔ World's #1 nuclear share, sustained for decades · Ember Energy 2025
Ember Energy France Country Profile 2026 · World Nuclear Association
27
of 182
CPI 2025
CPI 2025
Corruption Perceptions Index — Top-Tier Globally, Score 66
France ranks well above the global average of 42 and ahead of the United States (64), placing it firmly among the world's cleaner-perceived public sectors, even as its score has edged down over the past two years amid high-profile political legal cases.
↔ Top quintile globally · TI Feb 2026
Transparency International CPI 2025
⚠ Where France Faces Hard Questions
3rd
highest
debt in
EU
debt in
EU
⚠ Public Debt — 117.5% of GDP, Third-Highest in the EU
Behind only Greece (149.7%) and Italy (137.8%), and more than double the EU average of 81.1%, per INSEE and the national debt-monitoring dashboard. Interest costs are projected to reach €74–77 billion in 2026, now exceeding France's defence budget excluding pensions, and the Cour des Comptes' First President has called debt "not a risk — it is the current reality" of French public finances.
▼ Structural, rising trajectory · INSEE / Cour des Comptes 2026
INSEE Q1 2026 · Cour des Comptes, Feb 2026 · Agence France Trésor
A+
Rating,
down from
AA-
down from
AA-
⚠ Credit Rating Downgrades — Two Notches Cut in 2025
Fitch cut France from AA- to A+ in September 2025, and S&P followed with the same cut in November 2025 — both citing political instability and a slower-than-planned pace of fiscal consolidation. Moody's has held France at Aa3 but with a negative outlook since October 2025. All three ratings have been confirmed unchanged, but not improved, through mid-2026.
▼ First downgrades in years, all "A"-category or below AA · Fitch / S&P / Moody's 2025-26
Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, 2025-2026 sovereign reviews
5
PMs since
Jan 2024
Jan 2024
Political Fragmentation — No Majority Since the 2024 Snap Election
President Macron's 2024 decision to call snap legislative elections produced a National Assembly split into three roughly equal blocs, with no path to a stable majority government since. Budget negotiations toppled three governments before Lecornu's administration passed a 2026 budget in February, and the pattern is expected to persist into the 2027 presidential election.
↔ Ongoing structural feature · Assemblée Nationale, 2024–2026
Assemblée Nationale composition records · Fitch Ratings political-risk commentary, Sep 2025
🔒
Data Integrity Promise
Every number on FranceScorecard traces to an official French government publication (INSEE, Banque de France, Agence France Trésor, Cour des Comptes), an internationally recognised body (European Commission, ECB, Transparency International, Ember Energy), or a directly cited rating-agency report. We never estimate. Where data is unavailable, we say so. No political party funds or influences this site. Refreshed every 1st and 15th of every month.