In 2025, the current account remained in deficit, at EUR 11.6 billion, compared with a deficit of EUR 9.3 billion in 2024. However, this relative stability masks contrasting trends: lower energy costs continued to bolster the trade balance, but this positive effect was largely offset by the deterioration in the balance of trade in non energy goods and the decline in the trade in services surplus. Within non energy goods, the deterioration was primarily attributable to decreases recorded in the agriculture, agri food and other industrial product sectors, partly offset by the strong performance of the transport equipment sector. For the moment, the increase in US customs duties appears to be resulting more in a sectoral and geographical reallocation of trade flows than in an overall decline in French exports. Nevertheless, the ongoing deterioration in the balance of trade in non energy goods compared with the pre Covid period highlights the enduring weaknesses in France’s export capacity, with only a small number of sectors – notably aerospace and luxury goods – bucking the trend. However, the trade in services surplus remains high when compared to its long term historical trend. Its slight decline would appear to be more a return to normal than a marked change, following the exceptional peak in 2022 driven largely by sea freight rates.
The income balance remained close to equilibrium, but this apparent stability masked opposing trends. After two years of sharp deterioration, investment income stabilised in 2025, with disparate trends across different instruments: the high level of dividends paid out by French companies in 2025 weighed on the balances of direct and portfolio investment. Monetary easing, which began in mid 2024, supports the recovery in the balance of income from other investment – which is more sensitive to short term interest rates – even though this balance remains in deficit for banks; and it slows down the growth in income paid on public debt. These opposite effects largely offset one another, thereby limiting the overall impact of investment income on the current account balance.
The financial account balance returned to close to equilibrium in 2025. Net capital outflows from portfolio investment, driven mainly by especially large volumes of acquisitions of foreign securities by residents, were largely offset by net inflows from other investment. France’s net international investment position deteriorated significantly in 2025, to a negative amount of EUR 885.4 billion, or –29.6% of GDP (negative EUR 704.0 billion in 2024). This deterioration was mainly attributable to statistical adjustments, whilst valuation effects largely cancelled each other out: the appreciation of the euro reduced the value of assets denominated in foreign currencies, however this adverse effect was largely mitigated by rising asset prices. The international
investment position continued to be impacted by the high proportion of French government debt owned by non residents.”
