France’s overall manufacturing business climate fell to 99 in March 2026 from 102 in February, dipping below its long-term average and the market consensus of 100. Past production dropped sharply to –4 (vs 3 in February), while overall order books weakened further to –19 (vs –17) and foreign order books fell to –14 (vs –8), highlighting declining demand. Personal production prospects eased to 8 (vs 10) and general production prospects fell further to –9 (vs –6). Finished-goods inventories rose to 14 (vs 9), reflecting slower sales, while economic uncertainty remained elevated at 31 (vs 32). Workforce balances improved slightly, with expected size turning neutral (vs –2)., and expected selling prices jumped to 9 (vs 5), signaling inflationary pressures. Sub-sector performance was uneven, with food manufacturing rebounding modestly, machinery and equipment holding steady, while transport equipment and other manufacturing remained weak. source: INSEE, France

Business Confidence in France decreased to 98.70 points in March from 101.70 points in February of 2026. Business Confidence in France averaged 100.01 points from 1976 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 125.20 points in June of 2000 and a record low of 65.70 points in March of 2009. This page provides the latest reported value for - France Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. France Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on April of 2026.

Business Confidence in France decreased to 98.70 points in March from 101.70 points in February of 2026. Business Confidence in France is expected to be 98.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the France Business Confidence is projected to trend around 99.00 points in 2027 and 102.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-02-24 07:45 AM
Business Confidence
Feb 102 105 104 104
2026-03-26 07:45 AM
Business Confidence
Mar 99 102 100 98
2026-04-23 06:45 AM
Business Confidence
Apr 99


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Business Climate Indicator 97.00 97.00 points Mar 2026
Business Confidence 98.70 101.70 points Mar 2026
Capacity Utilization 76.51 76.58 percent Feb 2026
Changes in Inventories -6322.00 -500.00 EUR Million Dec 2025
Industrial Production 2.40 1.60 percent Jan 2026
Industrial Production MoM 0.50 -0.50 percent Jan 2026
Manufacturing Production 2.70 2.10 percent Jan 2026
Mining Production -2.00 -8.40 percent Jan 2026
New Orders -16.30 -10.70 points Feb 2026


France Business Confidence
In France, Business Climate measures industrial entrepreneurs’ sentiment about current business situation and expectation about business conditions. The survey sample comprises about 4,000 enterprises in the manufacturing and mining industries. The indicator is calculated using factor analysis technique. The index is then calculated in a way to measure the current sentiment in relation to the historic index values of the period 1993-2011. A value over 110 indicates unusually high optimism and a value under 90 indicates unusually high pessimism. The value 100 indicates neutrality.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
98.70 101.70 125.20 65.70 1976 - 2026 points Monthly
SA

News Stream
France Manufacturing Confidence Falls in March
France’s overall manufacturing business climate fell to 99 in March 2026 from 102 in February, dipping below its long-term average and the market consensus of 100. Past production dropped sharply to –4 (vs 3 in February), while overall order books weakened further to –19 (vs –17) and foreign order books fell to –14 (vs –8), highlighting declining demand. Personal production prospects eased to 8 (vs 10) and general production prospects fell further to –9 (vs –6). Finished-goods inventories rose to 14 (vs 9), reflecting slower sales, while economic uncertainty remained elevated at 31 (vs 32). Workforce balances improved slightly, with expected size turning neutral (vs –2)., and expected selling prices jumped to 9 (vs 5), signaling inflationary pressures. Sub-sector performance was uneven, with food manufacturing rebounding modestly, machinery and equipment holding steady, while transport equipment and other manufacturing remained weak.
2026-03-26
French Industry Confidence Lags Expectations
France’s manufacturing business climate indicator edged down to 102 in February 2026 from 105 in January, below expectations of 104, but remained above its long-term average of 100. Production-related balances weakened, with personal production prospects dropping sharply to 10 from 18, though remaining above average, while general production prospects slipped to -6 from -4. The balance for past production also declined to 3, moving slightly below its norm. Order books deteriorated, with overall orders falling to -16 from -11, while foreign orders were unchanged at -6, remaining well above average. Finished-goods inventories rebounded slightly to 9 but stayed below historical levels. Workforce balances declined for both past and expected employment, although expectations remained above average. Selling price expectations rose to 5 (vs 2), returning above their long-term norm, while economic uncertainty eased marginally but remained elevated (32 vs 33).
2026-02-24
France Industry Confidence Strongest Since 2022
France’s manufacturing business climate indicator rose to 105 in January 2026 from 102 in December, above forecasts of 101 and remaining above its long-term average of 100 for a second month. This marked the highest reading since July 2022, as optimism strengthened for personal production prospects (17 vs 10 in December), while pessimism eased for general production prospects (-4 vs -6), and overall order books (-11 from -17). In contrast, views weakened for finished-goods inventories (8 vs 19), while foreign orders (-6), past production (7), and economic uncertainty (33) remained stable. Workforce balances also stayed mildly negative. By sector, confidence surged in “other manufacturing” and transport equipment, rose modestly in food and beverages, and slipped in machinery and equipment goods. Supply constraints persisted, with 18% citing sourcing issues, 14% workforce shortages, 24% supply-only, and 24% demand-only obstacles.
2026-01-23