France’s economy contracted by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2026, compared with preliminary estimates of a flat reading and reversing a 0.2% expansion in Q4. This marked the first contraction since Q2 2020, as foreign trade weighed heavily on growth, subtracting 0.9 percentage points, with exports falling sharply (-3.5% vs +0.9% in Q4) while imports also declined (-0.9% vs -1.0%). Final domestic demand excluding inventories also contributed negatively (-0.2pp vs +0.2), reflecting weaker household consumption (-0.2% vs +0.3%), weighed down by a sharp drop in goods spending (-0.7%), while services were unchanged at +0.2%. Gross fixed capital formation also contracted (-0.6% vs +0.2%), driven by a steep fall in construction investment (-1.7%). In contrast, changes in inventories provided a strong offset, adding +1.0 percentage point after -0.7 in the previous quarter. On a yearly basis, GDP expanded 0.9%, lower than initial estimates of 1.1% and slowing from 1.3% in Q4.