France retains the top spot as Ireland’s biggest trading partner in the European Union, with bilateral trade levels now 30 per cent higher than they were prior to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trading between Ireland and France amounted to €50 billion in 2024, according to a new report on the State’s bilateral trade by the Embassy of France in Ireland, in partnership with the France-Ireland Chamber of Commerce.
This represents a 60 per cent hike on pre-Covid levels, with the biggest growth seen in the services sector which has seen trading levels elevated to €35.3 billion in 2024, growth of 75 per cent against 2019.
The growth in goods trade has lagged slightly, having risen 30 per cent against pre-Covid levels to reach €14.2 billion.
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Maritime shipping links between Ireland and its closest EU neighbour have increased dramatically, rising from 4 weekly shipping crossings in 2019 to 37 in 2025.
This has powered France to be the State’s third biggest source of goods imports totalling 11 per cent, behind the UK at 17 per cent and the US at 16 per cent. Germany, at 9 per cent of all goods imports, just pipped China to the fourth spot.
Chemicals and cosmetics trade makes up nearly 30 per cent of Irish imports from France, with the transport equipment and agri-food sector making up 12 and 11 per cent respectively.
Conversely, the pharmaceutical sector is by far the biggest sector for Irish exports to France – comprising 45 per cent of the €8.6 billion in exports. This compared to €1.7 billion in agri-food and €0.9 billion in chemicals trade with France.
The largest portions of Irish-French services, both imports and exports, is made up of consultancy and business services, nearly 40 per cent each way, with telecoms and IT services making up another 35 per cent of Ireland’s exports to France.
Foreign direct investment (FDI), a critical portion of Ireland’s economic strategy, is dominated by US inward investment, amounting to more than €897 billion in 2023. The report shows, however, that France remained Ireland’s fourth biggest source of FDI, at €25.7 billion in the same period, just behind Japan (€61.3 billion) and the UK at €31.2 billion.
The report found that 340 French companies have subsidiaries based in Ireland, employing 45,000 people. Two-thirds of which intend to grow their Irish presence, a survey in the report found.
Of the 40 largest French-listed companies, 33 have a presence in Ireland including banking giant BNP Paribas, tyre-maker Michelin, aircraft company Airbus, and Gucci brand owner Kering.
French businesses surveyed in the report noted Ireland’s participation in the European single market as the most common reason for investing in Ireland, alongside the stable political and business environment.
A further portion pointed to the quality of the Irish workforce for their investment into the State. However, labour costs and challenges accessing ad retaining workforce talent were cited as the biggest issues for these companies.
Jean-Noel Barrot, the French minister for Europe and foreign affairs said, in the report, “France is determined to deepen this partnership both bilaterally and at the European level.
“The Franco-Irish relationship rests not only on trade and investment, but also on shared ambitions and common values,” he said.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris highlighted the importance of trade with France and suggested the report gave evidence of the attractiveness of the State as a destination for investment.
