France's packaging industry valued at €42 bn seeks traceability boost

The French National Packaging Council (CNE) released its first comprehensive assessment of the packaging sector, estimating its annual turnover at more than €42 billion and accounting for 175,000 direct jobs across roughly 7,500 sites. The report highlights that packaging is integral to the country's value chains, enabling the safe transport, storage and marketing of goods. Of the 13 million tonnes of packaging placed on the market each year, around 70 % are recycled, meeting the European Union target for 2030.

In parallel, GS1 France announced the launch of "Le Pack’t," an alliance aimed at establishing a common digital framework for tracking reusable professional packaging. The initiative brings together the three French eco‑organisations involved in packaging reuse (Citeo Pro, Léko Pro and Twiice) and several operators in reuse, washing and digital solutions. Leveraging GS1 standards such as the GRAI identifier and the EPCIS event‑sharing protocol, the alliance seeks to overcome interoperability barriers, improve traceability and support compliance with the Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) and the EU PPWR regulation.

The combined effort underscores the sector's economic weight and its push toward greater sustainability through improved reuse and traceability mechanisms.