According to data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the composite business climate index in France stood at 95.8 points in August 2025, a drop of 0.1 points over one month. The index has been stuck below its long-term average for 17 months, with business leaders' opinion of the economy remaining as poor as ever.
According to the INSEE, inflation dropped slightly in August, falling below the 1% mark to 0.9% year-on-year (1% in July). This slight drop was largely due to a “slowdown in the prices of services, and, to a lesser extent, to an accentuation of the drop in those of manufactured products (-0.3% after -0.2%).” It must be said that in the current context of uncertainty, both in France and internationally, households prefer to save: data from France's national accounts for the second quarter show a further increase in the household savings rate, which stands at 18.9% of gross disposable income, whereas it was only 18.6% the previous quarter. This is the highest level since the health crisis. In July, household consumption of manufactured products fell by 0.3%.
The only good news in this gloomy landscape is the French manufacturing PMI index, published by S&P Global and HCOB, which rose from 48.2 in July to 50.4 in August 2025, exceeding the forecasts of 49.9. Crossing this threshold score of 50 marks an entry into the expansion zone, after a period of contraction which has continued since January 2023. According to Reuters, overall French private sector activity also improved, with a composite index reaching 49.8 in August, up from 48.6 in July. This figure reflects a reduction in the contraction and confirms that services, like industry, are moving closer to a return to growth. Care has to be taken though, S&P Global points out that manufacturers are still facing sluggish demand and high production costs. The short-term outlook therefore depends heavily on the trajectory of the global economy and the resilience of the domestic market.
Road transport prices in France fell by another 1.1% in August, month-on-month.
Source: Upply Freight Index – Road France
The evolution of diesel prices has had a significant impact: according to the CNR, the professional diesel index decreased by 2.7% in August 2025. Its downward average annual trend (-9.5%) has a strong impact on the annual variations of all synthetic indices. It has a notable impact on the long-distance articulated unit index (LDEA), which has fallen by 0.6%, while all other costs are affected by the inflation, albeit a modest one but one above zero. To put it simply, diesel alone would explain half of the drop in transport prices in France in August.
The other explanation undoubtedly lies in the weakness of demand, and therefore of the volumes to be transported, which has driven down road transport prices in France (...)