The productivity of France for the past 26 years is in the losing trio of European countries.

In Europe, productivity is facing major challenges. A study by Isabel Schnabel, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, highlighted the huge gap that has widened between the United States and European countries. Eurostat, in a detailed study analyzing the situation country by country, identifies those at the top of the rankings and those facing difficulties. It is clear that France, once considered one of the most productive countries in Europe and a leader in this aspect, no longer holds that position.

Eurostat defines labor productivity as the quantity of goods and services produced by each member of the workforce or by unit of labor input. This is measured using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adjusted by purchasing power standard (PPS) to compare living costs, either per employed person or per hour worked, and is then expressed as an index.

Currently in Europe, there is a trend of working fewer hours to achieve higher productivity, a pattern that may be seen in other regions of the world. Taking a base index of 100 in 2020, the number of hours worked per employed person was 112.4 in 1999 and decreased to 104.74 in 2025. During the same period, real labor productivity per hour worked increased from 87.3 to 106.55. However, despite the boost provided by new technologies and increasingly efficient machines, Eurostat notes a noticeable slowdown over the three periods analyzed: from 1999 to 2008, productivity grew by 1.5%; from 2008 to 2019, it dropped to 1.1%; and from 2019 to 2025, it fell to 0.5%.

As for France, in 2025, hourly productivity growth remains at the European average of 1.5%, compared to 1.4% for the EU as a whole, along with a significant decrease in the number of hours worked. However, the long-term outlook is more concerning. Throughout the three periods analyzed by Eurostat (1999-2008, 2008-2019, 2019-2025), France never surpassed the European average: from 1999 to 2008, hourly productivity growth was 0.9% compared to 1.5% for the EU; from 2008 to 2019, it was 0.4% compared to 1.1%; and from 2019 to 2025, -0.8% compared to 0.5%. Over the period 1999-2025, only Greece and Luxembourg had lower productivity levels than France.

Furthermore, at the regional level, between 2003 and 2023, 9 out of the 22 former regions of mainland France recorded a labor productivity growth of less than 0.5%, with the others remaining below 1%.

Therefore, in terms of productivity, France currently finds itself at the bottom of a struggling Europe.