French stocks exhibited a varied performance on Friday as investors evaluated geopolitical developments and continued to respond to recent quarterly earnings reports, while also anticipating the significant U.S. non-farm payroll data for insights regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.

The benchmark CAC 40, exhibiting limited volatility, increased by 45.44 points or 0.52% to reach 8,745.15 shortly after noon.

• Pernod Ricard experienced an increase of over 2.5%.
• Dassault Systemes experienced an increase of nearly 2%, whereas STMicroelectronics and Airbus saw rises of 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
• AXA, EssilorLuxottica, Schneider Electric, Capgemini, Euronext, Safran, Eurofins Scientific, Sanofi, Publicis Groupe, Kering, and ArcelorMittal also experienced upward movement.
• Stellantis experienced a decline of approximately 3%.
• Eiffage declined by 1.6%, while Bouygues experienced a decrease of approximately 1%.
• Vinci, Carrefour, Orange, Veolia Environment, and TotalEnergies exhibited signs of weakness.

In recent economic developments, data released by INSEE indicated that the unemployment rate in France increased to 8.3% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 8.1% in the preceding quarter. The unemployment rate was anticipated to register at 8.2%. It represented the peak level observed since the third quarter of 2020.

France’s trade deficit contracted to €5.8 billion in June 2026, down from €7.9 billion in May, and was less than the anticipated €6.5 billion. This improvement was driven by an increase in exports alongside a decrease in imports. Exports increased by 2.6% month-on-month, reaching €54.5 billion, whereas imports decreased by 0.9%, totalling €60.4 billion.