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Regional Spotlight – France

Spotlight on Geopolitical & Economic Uncertainty 2026

Regional Spotlight – France

The age of predictable globalisation is disappearing. As geopolitical competition and economic uncertainty reshape how businesses operate, success will depend less on predicting every disruption and more on having the resilience, visibility and flexibility to adapt. .

Below, we highlight the views of 500 France-based executives across a range of industries and company sizes, drawn from our Risk & Resilience surveys conducted in January and July this year. The results reveal a notable rise in concern during the first six months of the year, demonstrating how quickly geopolitical and economic uncertainty is impacting business priorities.

Key messages
Key findings
Geopolitical and economic risk and resilience
The impact of the geopolitical and economic
Geopolitical and economic industry
Small versus large

For insurance brokers

1. Help clients understand critical dependencies - With 79% of businesses agreeing that political change is affecting profitable trade, clients need to understand where their concentrations of risk sit beyond their direct suppliers – across technology, capital, infrastructure and the systems that their businesses depend on – and what these exposures mean for their insurance programmes.

2. When the business changes, the insurance - Risk intelligence, scenario planning and specialty insurance can give clients greater financial flexibility when disruption occurs, helping to absorb shocks, change course and continue investing and trading through geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

3. Use insurance to give clients room to adapt - Risk intelligence, scenario planning and specialty insurance can give clients greater financial flexibility when disruption occurs, helping to absorb shocks, change course and continue trading through geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
For business leaders

1. Build optionality before disruption strikes – With 87% of organisations planning to change their suppliers or supply chains, businesses should reduce reliance on single suppliers and find alternatives across supply chains, technology and markets to strengthen operational resilience for when disruption occurs.

2. Understand your critical dependencies – Map hidden dependencies that underpin organisational growth, including data, cloud infrastructure, payment networks, technology partners and key resources, to understand how sudden disruption would affect operational resilience.

3. Turn resilience into competitive advantage – With 90% of executives agreeing geopolitical tensions are limiting growth, organisations should work with their insurance partners to horizon scan, risk model and plan the financial resilience required to adapt quickly, invest confidently and seize future opportunities.

Key findings at a glance - business leaders’ views

Economic concern tops risk agendas  

37% rank economic slowdown, inflation, recession and sovereign debt among their top three risks, up from 28% in January 2026.
Political change is hitting profitability

79% agree that changes in the political landscape are affecting their ability to trade profitably, up from 77% in January 2026.
Geopolitical tensions are constraining growth

90% agree that geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty will limit their businesses' growth plans, up from 77% at the start of 2026.
Geopolitics is affecting supply chains

87% agree that due to rising geopolitical tension their business will make changes to their suppliers and supply chains over the next year.
Employee-related risk concern rises 

91% agree that access to talent, employee retention and mental health challenges are concerns for their business, up from 75% in January 2026.
Cybersecurity & system outage worries rise  

43% rank cybersecurity, systemic cyber attack, mandatory reporting and consider third-party attacks and system outages consistently as a top three risk concern up from 34% in January 2026.

Beazley Risk & Resilience survey, January and July 2026

Key messages

For insurance brokers

1. Help clients understand critical dependencies - With 79% of businesses agreeing that political change is affecting profitable trade, clients need to understand where their concentrations of risk sit beyond their direct suppliers – across technology, capital, infrastructure and the systems that their businesses depend on – and what these exposures mean for their insurance programmes.

2. When the business changes, the insurance - Risk intelligence, scenario planning and specialty insurance can give clients greater financial flexibility when disruption occurs, helping to absorb shocks, change course and continue investing and trading through geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

3. Use insurance to give clients room to adapt - Risk intelligence, scenario planning and specialty insurance can give clients greater financial flexibility when disruption occurs, helping to absorb shocks, change course and continue trading through geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
For business leaders

1. Build optionality before disruption strikes – With 87% of organisations planning to change their suppliers or supply chains, businesses should reduce reliance on single suppliers and find alternatives across supply chains, technology and markets to strengthen operational resilience for when disruption occurs.

2. Understand your critical dependencies – Map hidden dependencies that underpin organisational growth, including data, cloud infrastructure, payment networks, technology partners and key resources, to understand how sudden disruption would affect operational resilience.

3. Turn resilience into competitive advantage – With 90% of executives agreeing geopolitical tensions are limiting growth, organisations should work with their insurance partners to horizon scan, risk model and plan the financial resilience required to adapt quickly, invest confidently and seize future opportunities.

Key findings

Key findings at a glance - business leaders’ views

Economic concern tops risk agendas  

37% rank economic slowdown, inflation, recession and sovereign debt among their top three risks, up from 28% in January 2026.
Political change is hitting profitability

79% agree that changes in the political landscape are affecting their ability to trade profitably, up from 77% in January 2026.
Geopolitical tensions are constraining growth

90% agree that geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty will limit their businesses' growth plans, up from 77% at the start of 2026.
Geopolitics is affecting supply chains

87% agree that due to rising geopolitical tension their business will make changes to their suppliers and supply chains over the next year.
Employee-related risk concern rises 

91% agree that access to talent, employee retention and mental health challenges are concerns for their business, up from 75% in January 2026.
Cybersecurity & system outage worries rise  

43% rank cybersecurity, systemic cyber attack, mandatory reporting and consider third-party attacks and system outages consistently as a top three risk concern up from 34% in January 2026.

Beazley Risk & Resilience survey, January and July 2026

Geopolitical and economic risk and resilience

The impact of the geopolitical and economic

Geopolitical and economic industry

Small versus large

The questions every board should ask

When assessing critical dependencies, three questions matter most:

How important is this dependency to our business operations?
How vulnerable is it to disruption?
How quickly could it be restored or replaced if it failed?

The answers to these questions will help to prioritise investment, insurance programmes, diversification, contingency planning, procurement, inventory management and business continuity.

"Today it's less about price and more about really knowing your suppliers and understanding what or who sits behind them. Boards should identify where such suppliers are dependent on a critical source, element or product, and what happens if it is suddenly unavailable."

Mathilde Lecointre, Head of Political Risk and Trade Credit Europe, Beazley

Maintaining momentum

Insurance provides a vital financial backstop when mitigation measures and contingency plans cannot fully absorb a shock.

Standard commercial policies may exclude losses arising from conflict or state-backed disruption, so organisations should consider targeted specialty cover such as trade credit and political violence insurance.

Embedding these policies within a business’s continuity planning helps to protect cash flow and provide access to capital needed for recovery when disruption impacts key operations, supplies or investments.

"Insurance coverage is important, but so is the relationship behind the policy. When conditions change, businesses need insurers who understand their business, appreciate the risks and can support them when events take an unexpected turn."

Mathilde Lecointre

The challenge

Insurance cannot remove uncertainty, but it can provide financial confidence to keep investing, trading and growing when conditions change. In a world where disruption is increasingly normal, resilience is a source of competitive advantage.

To read the full report click here

Spotlight on Geopolitical & Economic Uncertainty 2026

Regional Spotlight – France

For insurance brokers

For business leaders

Key findings at a glance - business leaders’ views

Economic concern tops risk agendas

Political change is hitting profitability

Geopolitical tensions are constraining growth

Geopolitics is affecting supply chains

Employee-related risk concern rises

Cybersecurity & system outage worries rise

Geopolitical and economic risk and resilience concerns over time

The impact of the geopolitical and economic landscape on France-based businesses

Geopolitical and economic industry risk and resilience concerns

Small versus large

For insurance brokers

For business leaders

Key findings at a glance - business leaders’ views

Economic concern tops risk agendas

Political change is hitting profitability

Geopolitical tensions are constraining growth

Geopolitics is affecting supply chains

Employee-related risk concern rises

Cybersecurity & system outage worries rise

Geopolitical and economic risk and resilience concerns over time

The impact of the geopolitical and economic landscape on France-based businesses

Geopolitical and economic industry risk and resilience concerns

Small versus large

The questions every board should ask

Maintaining momentum

The challenge

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