French Consumer Morale Weakens

The consumer confidence indicator in France fell to 89 in March 2026, in line with market expectations but slightly below February’s reading of 91. This marked the lowest level since November 2025 and remained below its long-term average of 100, as households became more pessimistic about their future personal financial situation (-12 vs -8 in February), alongside a slight weakening in perceptions of saving capacity, both in the present (23 vs 24) and the future (16 vs 17). Consumers also expressed a more negative outlook on the country’s future standard of living (-62 vs -55). Meanwhile, the share of households expecting prices to accelerate over the next twelve months dropped sharply (-1 vs -29), while the proportion of respondents who view it as a good time to make major purchases edged lower (-29 vs -28). Concerns about future unemployment also eased marginally (47 vs 48).

The consumer confidence indicator in France came in at 91 in February 2026, slightly above market expectations and December’s reading of 90. Still, the figure remained below the long-term average of 100. Households became less pessimistic about their future personal financial situation (-8 vs -12 in January), and their opinions on the ability to save, both in the present (24 vs 20) and in the future (17 vs 15), improved. Consumers’ assessments of the country’s future standard of living were also less negative (-54 vs -57). In addition, the share of households expecting prices to accelerate over the next twelve months declined notably (-30 vs -26). At the same time, the proportion of respondents who consider it a good time to make major purchases remained stable (-28). However, concerns about future unemployment increased (48 vs 46).

Consumer confidence in France stood at 90 in January 2026, unchanged from December and in line with expectations, remaining below the long-term average of 100. Savings intentions eased to 41 from 45, while current saving capacity rose modestly to 20 from 19 and expected saving capacity held steady at 14. Negative perceptions of the past standard of living remained at -70, while expectations for the future standard of living edged down to -58 from -57. Major purchase intentions stayed negative at -28, compared with -27 in December. Households’ assessments of their past financial situation held at -21, while expectations for their future finances improved slightly to -12 from -13. Unemployment prospects remained unchanged at 45. Perceptions of past consumer prices worsened to -6 from -3, while future inflation expectations eased to -26 from -29, reflecting continued caution about the broader economic outlook.