France Household Spending Falls Beyond Forecasts

Household consumption of goods in France dropped 0.6% month-on-month in December 2025, following a 0.3% decrease in November and exceeding expectations of a 0.4% fall. The decline was driven by a sharp pullback in engineered goods consumption (-1.0% vs +0.5% in November), as spending on durable goods (-1.2%) and textile-clothing (-2.1%) contracted notably, while other engineered goods were flat. Food consumption also continued to fall (-0.9% vs -0.1%), reflecting lower purchases of seasonal food items, particularly festive products, although tobacco consumption increased. By contrast, energy consumption rebounded (+0.8% vs -2.0%), supported by higher petrol and diesel use amid low fuel prices, even as gas and electricity demand declined due to unusually mild temperatures. On an annual basis, household consumption fell 1.0%, while it rose 0.4% on a quarterly basis compared with the previous period.