Fashion pulse: France - August 2026

Consumer prices (August)

French headline inflation on the national consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.4 percent year-on-year in August 2026 from 2.1 percent in July, according to France's national statistics office INSEE. Energy prices rose 16.7 percent YoY, while services inflation slowed to 1.9 percent from 2.2 percent. On the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), the EU-comparable measure published by the European Union statistics office Eurostat, inflation rose to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent.

Clothing and shoe prices fell 1.4 percent YoY on the national CPI in August, a smaller decline than July's 2.9 percent, according to INSEE. On the month, clothing and shoe prices rose 7.3 percent after the July fall linked to the summer sales.

On the HICP, which splits clothing and footwear and uses different weights from INSEE's combined grouping, clothing prices fell 1.2 percent YoY and footwear prices 2.2 percent, according to Eurostat. Womenswear prices fell 2.2 percent and menswear 0.7 percent.

Retail sales (INSEE July, preliminary; industry data August)

Sales volumes at specialised clothing stores rose 4.1 percent YoY in July, the latest month published, after a 5.3 percent rise in June, according to preliminary INSEE data adjusted for seasonal and working-day effects. Turnover at these stores, measured in current prices, rose 2.5 percent YoY, while volumes at footwear and leather goods stores were 0.5 percent below July 2025. Turnover in mail order and internet retail across all product categories rose 5.0 percent YoY in current prices, according to INSEE.

The French retail federation Alliance du Commerce reported that clothing chains in its panel of more than 70 apparel brands saw sales fall 4.3 percent in August against a comparable period a year earlier on a constant perimeter, after a 0.2 percent rise in July. The chains' own online sales fell 2.1 percent in August. The panel covers chains only and is not directly comparable with the INSEE series.

Macro context (August)

INSEE's household confidence indicator held at 86 in August, below its long-term average of 100. The French unemployment rate eased to 8.2 percent in August from 8.3 percent in July, according to Eurostat.

Monetary policy and currency (August)

The European Central Bank (ECB) left the deposit facility rate unchanged at 2.25 percent in August. The euro strengthened 1.54 percent against the dollar in August, to a monthly mean of 1.1593 dollars from 1.1417 dollars in July, according to the ECB. Compared with August 2025, the euro was 0.33 percent weaker, a marginal change in the euro cost of dollar-invoiced goods.

The bottom line

French clothing and shoe prices fell 1.4 percent YoY on the national CPI in August, against headline inflation of 2.4 percent. The latest preliminary INSEE retail data, for July, show sales volumes at specialised clothing stores 4.1 percent higher than a year earlier. Alliance du Commerce panel data, which cover chains only and are not directly comparable, show chain sales down 4.3 percent in August.

Note: this article combines the most recent official data available at the time of writing. Reporting lags differ by indicator and country, so not all figures refer to the same month. Each data point is labelled with its reference period.