The figures from Eurostat, the statistics office of the EU, show that France remains one of Europe's more expensive countries, although it is some way below the highest-cost countries.
The data covers more than 2,000 consumer goods and services across 36 European countries: the 27 EU member states, three EFTA countries and six candidate countries. The UK is not included.
The figures cover household consumption and do not include house prices or rents.
In 2025, the overall price level for household consumption in France was 10.4% above the EU average.
That puts France above Spain, Italy and Portugal, but below Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Nordic countries.
There has been little change in France's position since the previous year's figures. The overall French price level was 111% of the EU average in the 2024 data and 110.4% in 2025.
The table below shows the overall comparison for household consumption expenditure, with the EU average set at 100 by Eurostat.
Across Europe, Iceland and Switzerland have the highest consumer price levels, whilst in the EU, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg lie substantially ahead of most other countries, with price levels twice as high as Bulgaria and Romania.
Food Prices
The overall figure looks rather different when individual categories are examined.
The table below shows price-level indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear.
Eurostat puts the 2025 French price level for food and non-alcoholic beverages at almost 107% of the EU average, with 11 other countries above it.
The differences elsewhere in Europe are considerable. Luxembourg recorded the highest price level at 122% of the EU average, followed by Denmark at almost 121% and Ireland at 115%.
At the other end, Romania was at 80%, Slovakia at 83%, while Bulgaria and Poland were around 90%.
The alcohol and tobacco index is relatively high in France, largely because of taxation, with tobacco particularly heavily taxed.
Restaurants and Hotels
The table below gives the indices for personal transport equipment, transport services, communication services and equipment, and restaurants and hotels.
France is above the EU average for the combined category of restaurants and hotels. However, as Eurostat combines restaurants and accommodation in a single index it does not show whether restaurants or hotels are responsible for France's position.
Energy
Eurostat's separate utility-related price comparison includes electricity, gas and other fuels.
Household energy prices are among the categories where Eurostat finds the widest differences between European countries.
Germany had the highest price level for energy in 2025, at around 122% of the European average. France compares quite favourably, lying in 13th place in the table.
Elsewhere on the table Eurostat records France as having the highest price level among EU countries for information and communication equipment.
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