France tobacco pricing and taxation trends

French Customs announced that new retail prices for various tobacco products and cigarettes would take effect on November 1, 2026. These adjustments included price hikes for brands such as Marlboro Red and certain rolling tobacco products, alongside price reductions for brands like Royale Evolved Fusion and News Instant Rouge XL.

Broadly, tobacco prices in France have increased nearly fourfold over the last twenty-five years. Taxes, comprising excise duties and VAT, now represent more than 80 percent of the retail price. Since 2023, excise duties have been indexed to inflation without a ceiling, resulting in automatic annual increases.

While daily smoking rates among 18 to 75-year-olds fell from 25 percent in 2014 to 18 percent in 2024, the decline stalled between 2019 and 2021. In Corsica, the elimination of a tax niche that previously kept prices 25 percent lower than the mainland has led to price alignment with continental rates as of January 1, 2026. Local tobacconists have reported a rise in the parallel market and shifts in consumer behavior, including the stockpiling of cigarettes from abroad to avoid higher costs.