France’s GDP rose by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025, following a 0.1% gain in the first quarter, according to data from Insee, the French statistics office.
Household consumption remained stable (0.0%), with a reduction in energy spending (-2.4%) offset by an increase in spend on food products, up by 1.6%, and accommodation services, which rose by 2.3%.
Elsewhere, investment, measured as gross fixed capital formation, fell by 0.1%, the second quarter in a row that it has seen a marginal decline in France.
Construction saw a continued decline, dropping by 0.4% in the quarter, following a 1.0% decline in Q1, while investment in transport equipment fell (-2.0%) after having risen (+0.8%) in the previous quarter. Investment in business services grew, however, by 1.2% (compared to +1.4% the previous quarter), moderating the overall contraction.
General government expenditure rose by 0.4%, slightly faster than the previous quarter (+0.2%).
Imports and exports
Exports showed a 0.5% increase in the quarter, a turnaround on a 1.2% decline reported the previous quarter, boosted by a sharp rise in pharmaceutical exports.
Imports, too, showed a notable increase, rising by 1.3% compared to 0.4% in Q1, boosted by higher purchases of pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, and refinery products.
Read more: Business climate in France ‘stable’ in August 2025
Household consumption
Elsewhere, household gross disposable income rose by 0.3%, slower than in the previous quarter (+0.6%), with wages and salaries growing at a steady pace (+0.4%, compared to +0.3% in Q1). At the same time, household consumption prices fell slightly back (-0.1% following +0.5%).
‘The household savings rate rose sharply, as a result of the stabilisation of consumption in volume terms and of the increase in purchasing power,’ Insee noted. ‘It stood at 18.9%, after 18.6% in the first quarter of 2025.’
In terms of employment, total hours worked fell by 0.2%, marking a third consecutive decline, Insee noted, while hourly productivity continued to recover. Read more here.
