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.  

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