Government budget cuts and shifting priorities away from infrastructure will constrain French construction activity and bitumen demand in the coming years, despite progress on several major projects.
Prime minister François Bayrou on 15 July outlined plans to cut public spending by €40bn between 2026 and 2029 as part of a broader fiscal consolidation strategy. While some transport and urban development projects are moving ahead, recent cases suggest that funding constraints and environmental opposition are creating uncertainty for the sector.
Several motorway and urban development schemes are either under way or scheduled to begin from late 2025. One of the most prominent is the A69 highway between Toulouse and Castres. Construction began in March 2023 but was suspended in February this year following environmental objections. A successful appeal allowed work to resume in mid-June, with completion now expected by September 2026.
The A69 case has raised concerns among contractors about growing risks to infrastructure projects, even those already approved and budgeted. Environmental opposition is increasingly seen as a source of delays and uncertainty.
That offers little hope of a noticeable bitumen demand upturn. The market has been in long-term decline, driven by chronic underfunding for road, highway and bridge maintenance — an issue highlighted by the French National Assembly in May. According to local authorities, which manage most of the country's road network, around one-third is in poor condition.
Climate change has accelerated wear and tear, with heatwaves and floods increasingly damaging road surfaces and requiring more frequent and extensive repairs. A recent assessment by the French Transport Regulatory Authority estimated that more than €10bn will be needed between 2031 and 2036 to carry out essential motorway maintenance.
At a crossroads?
French bitumen consumption has declined steadily from 2.7mn t in 2019 to 1.92mn t last year, according to national data. Brussels-based industry body Eurobitume reported a 3.1pc rise last year to just over 2mn t, slightly at odds with the French figures.
One major French bitumen supplier sees stable demand in the first half of 2025 compared with a year earlier, but a leading construction firm reports weaker activity so far this year due to adverse weather and local authority budget cuts.
Defence spending is also drawing resources away from infrastructure. The French government plans to increase defence funding by €3.5bn next year in response to global conflicts and revised Nato contributions.
New projects may offer some support. Work on the €1bn Rouen bypass in northwest France is scheduled to begin next year, with completion expected by 2031. Five other schemes will focus on widening or upgrading existing roads.
The largest ongoing infrastructure project is the Grand Paris Express, which aims to double the size of the Paris metro network with 200km of new lines and 68 additional stations. While ancillary roadworks may involve bitumen, overall usage for the project is limited. Launched in 2011 and praised for its sustainability at the UN's Cop 21 climate conference, the project has made slow progress and is now targeted for completion in 2031. Its environmental credentials have come under scrutiny due to its carbon footprint during construction.
Separately, Vinci's Eurovia unit is piloting France's first "electric highway" on a 1km stretch of the A10 motorway between Paris and Bordeaux.
