French Consumer Confidence Falls to 80, Lowest Since 2013, as Protests Weigh on Households

French consumer confidence fell five points to 80 in October, its lowest level since June 2013, the national statistics agency INSEE said on Tuesday. The drop came during a month of widespread protests across the country, and it left household sentiment far below the reading economists had expected.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected the index to hold at 85, the same as the revised September figure. The October reading of 80 is also well below the long term average of 100 recorded between January 1987 and December 2025. INSEE based the survey on responses collected between September 25 and October 19, a period that covered some of the protests and rioting seen across France this month. The Wall Street Journal reported that the survey covers around 2,000 households.

What the survey found

Households reported a sharper rise in prices and a weaker view of their own finances. The share of consumers who believe prices have risen sharply over the past 12 months rose by 8 points, after a gain of 6 points in September. Sentiment about past personal finances fell by 9 points, and sentiment about future personal finances fell by 6 points.

Worries about jobs also increased. Fears over the trend in unemployment rose by 5 points, following a fall in September, and unemployment expectations rose to 61 from 56, the highest level since March 2021. The assessment of past living standards fell to minus 85 from minus 82, its lowest level since the survey began in October 1972. Fewer households thought it was a good time to save, with that measure down 6 points, while views on their current ability to save stayed stable.

Protests and the bond market

France has been hit by a wave of protests that began with small student demonstrations in suburban Paris in September, held to denounce school conditions. The protests swiftly broadened into a wider movement against the economic policies of the government.

The protest wave has run alongside a selloff of French government bonds. The Wall Street Journal reported that the nationwide protests and the bond selloff raised questions about the feasibility of the fiscal outlook of the country. The French 10-year bond yield reached its highest level since 2002 in October, amid investor concern over the debt load of the country and political paralysis. The consumer confidence release gives the first full survey reading taken while the protests were under way, and it shows households marking down their finances, their living standards and their job prospects at the same time.