French trade deficit swells to €6.9bn over Middle East conflict

Rising oil prices owing to the Iran war saw France’s trade deficit widen by 1.4 billion euros in March to 6.9 billion euros, authorities said Thursday.

Imports hit 59.3 billion in March, an increase of 1.8 billion over the previous month.

Customs authorities stated that was largely due to the “rise in energy prices linked to the crisis in the Middle East,” particularly natural hydrocarbons.

They added the rise in import energy prices was close to 50 percent.

A further factor was an increase in energy product shipments of refined petroleum products and electricity.

“Excluding energy, exports are broadly stable,” the authorities added.

France’s trade balance deteriorated with the European Union in dipping 700 million euros, mainly with Germany, and also with non-EU Europe to the tune of 800 million euros, which Paris put down largely to an increase in natural gas supplies from Kazakhstan.

The trade balance, however, did improve with Asia and Africa.

Over the 12-month period from April 2025 to March 2026, the French trade balance deteriorated by 1.4 billion to 62.3 billion.

“This is the first deterioration in the 12-month cumulative balance since July 2025,” authorities stated.

AFP

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