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France’s public works contractors reported a further deterioration in business sentiment in October, according to the quarterly survey published by the national statistics institute INSEE on October 23. The balance of opinion on order books fell to −53, down from −49 in July and −38 in April. INSEE said this was the lowest reading since April 2016. The balance is a survey measure of firms’ assessments, not a count of orders or a value of construction output.
Responses also pointed to weak activity. The balance for activity over the previous three months reached −45 in October, compared with −37 in July and −29 in April. The corresponding balance for expected activity over the next three months slipped to −44 from −43 in July. Both stood well below their long-term averages. Because the survey asks business managers whether conditions are improving or worsening, a negative balance does not mean activity fell by that percentage.
The results differed by customer type. The opinion balance for public-sector order books was −64, compared with −60 in July; the private-sector balance was −51, compared with −40. Expectations for activity among public-sector clients edged up from −53 to −50, while private-sector expectations weakened from −33 to −38. INSEE cautions that customer-specific balances can differ from the overall result because some firms cannot separate work by client type.
Demand was the most frequently reported constraint: 64% of respondents said a lack of demand was limiting production, up from 56% in July and 53% in April. By contrast, 12% cited labour shortages, down from 20% in July. Weather-related constraints were reported by 11%, compared with 33% in July. These shares are seasonally adjusted response percentages; they describe reported obstacles, not the proportion of projects delayed or cancelled.
The employment outlook remained subdued but improved slightly: the balance for expected workforce changes rose to −17 from −19 in July. The balance for payment delays fell to 28 from 33, moving closer to its long-run average. Perceived economic uncertainty rose for a sixth consecutive quarter to 53, the highest value in that series, which begins in 2021. The uncertainty balance is not seasonally adjusted, unlike several other measures in the table.
INSEE’s release combines the institute’s survey with the French National Federation of Public Works (FNTP). It is evidence about contractor sentiment in October and expected conditions over the following three months, not an official measure of completed infrastructure work, spending, or employment. The published table also shows a long decline in activity balances since January 2026. The next survey would be needed to determine whether the October expectations materialize; this release alone does not establish future output or explain the causes of demand weakness.
For context, the long-term average balance for order books is −24, while the October reading was −53. The historical comparison describes survey sentiment across time; it does not quantify a shortfall in euros or physical workload.