France Trade Deficit Largest in 8 Months

France’s trade deficit widened slightly to €7.8 billion in May 2025, compared to market expectations and a downwardly revised €7.7 billion in April. This marks the largest trade gap since last September, as exports dropped by 0.3% month-over-month to €48.9 billion, attributed to weaker sales of natural hydrocarbons (-6.8%), publishing and communication products (-2.8%), and other industrial goods (-2.1%). Exports declined across most regions, including Asia (-14.1%), America (-6.4%), the Middle East (-2.5%), and Africa (-0.8%), while shipments to the EU rose by 4.8%. Meanwhile, imports fell at a slightly slower pace of 0.2% to €56.7 billion, mainly due to reduced purchases of natural hydrocarbons (-3.3%), publishing and communication products (-3.1%), and other industrial products (-1.1%). By region, imports fell from the Americas (-5.4%), the Middle East (-2%), and Asia (-0.1%), but rose from Africa (+8.6%) and the EU (+1.3%).