Is French foreign trade finally shedding its unenviable status as the Achilles’ heel of the French economy? The trade deficit, which buckled under soaring energy prices to reach a record €161.7 billion in 2022, has experienced a marked turnaround. In 2025, despite the trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump, it shrank to €69.2 billion, down from just over €79 billion in 2024, according to figures published on Friday, February 6, by the French customs authority.
The improvement was driven by a 2.5% rise in exports, which totaled €614.7 billion – more dynamic than imports, which increased by just 0.7% to €703.6 billion. The one area of concern was agri-food, whose surplus (still positive) sharply declined to €200 million for the year, its lowest level since the 2000s, according to customs officials.
This deficit in goods trade was, however, largely offset by the surplus recorded in services trade, which reached €55.6 billion in 2025 – a slight drop from the €56.7 billion posted in 2024, as reported on Friday by the Bank of France.
Expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product, the recovery in foreign trade is striking, noted Anthony Morlet-Lavidalie of the Rexecode economic research institute. While the deficit accounted for 0.8% of GDP between 2017 and 2019, it fell to 0.4% in 2025, “which strengthens its sustainability,” the economist said.
You have 74.82% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
