The French trade deficit continues to widen and reached 7.6 billion euros in May.

France's trade deficit in goods widened once again in May, reaching €7.6 billion. The trade balance was affected by a decline in exports that was greater than that of imports, customs officials announced on Tuesday, July 8.

A trend that has worsened a little more each month since the beginning of the year, although the deficit for April was revised slightly downward, to 7.2 billion euros, compared to 7.4 billion euros the previous month.

In May, imports fell by €600 million while exports declined by €1 billion, explaining the decline observed this month. The energy balance, however, improved thanks to a greater decline in imports than in exports, according to customs. The manufactured goods balance, for its part, declined, becoming the main contributor to the deterioration in France's overall trade balance.

Over the past twelve months, this balance reached €80 billion. For the whole of 2024, the country's trade deficit totaled €81 billion, while France has not generated a trade surplus on goods since 2002.