French paper and cardboard production rose by 6.3% in volume in 2024, according to data published by Copacel, the paper industry trade association. This rebound, which takes national production to 6.5 million tonnes, exceeds the European average (+5.2%), but is not enough to erase the sharp contraction of 2023 (-13.5%). In value terms, growth remains very limited (+1%, to 5.7 billion euros), a sign of downward pressure on sales prices.
Graphic paper production up for the first time in 20 years
Growth in 2024 reflects a differentiated dynamic across product families.
Paper and board for packaging, as well as hygiene products, confirmed their upward trend.
The rise in popularity of paper and cardboard packaging is also due to French and European regulatory requirements, notably the AGEC law and the PPWR regulation currently under discussion. The environmental properties of cellulose-based materials - renewable properties, biodegradability, high recycling rate (80%) - make them even more attractive, especially as technical advances are improving their strength and barrier performance. These innovations broaden their field of application as substitutes for single-use plastics.
More unusually, graphic papers (office, publishing and press), which have been in decline for two decades, also experienced a recovery. This development is attributed in particular to a reaction to the saturation of digital uses, in a context of growing "digital fatigue", stresses the union, which brings together 74 companies and represents nearly 10,000 employees.
Copacel sees four major obstacles to competitiveness in the paper industry
Despite this momentum, Copacel's member companies are warning of a series of structural factors weighing on their competitiveness.
The first concerns taxation these include production taxes and environmental levies, some of which have increased significantly. Water use levies, for example, have risen by as much as 300% in some cases.
Second constraint cost of energy which remains a major point of tension. Rising liquefied natural gas and electricity prices are having a direct impact on production costs. The uncertainty surrounding the end of regulated access to historical nuclear electricity (ARENH) on December 31, 2025, with no known replacement mechanism to date, is fuelling concerns in the sector, which stresses the need to benefit from competitive access to nuclear-generated electricity.
In addition to these economic challenges regulatory constraints increasingly strong. In particular, manufacturers are denouncing the difficulties of applying the European regulation on the fight against imported deforestation (RDUE), criticized for being vague and cumbersome to implement.
Finally, the skills renewal is also an ongoing challenge. Paper mills are struggling to recruit, despite offering skilled, well-paid jobs in line with societal concerns such as the circular economy and sustainable forest management.
An unfavorable international environment for the sector
This fragility is further compounded by the global economic situation. The trade war initiated by the United States, although of limited direct impact (only 1% of French production is exported across the Atlantic), is likely to have indirect repercussions, notably on demand for packaging for wines and spirits, sectors sensitive to disruptions in international flows.
For Christian Ribeyrolle, President of Copacel, "our country's growth rate is lower than that of the EU and anemic compared with the United States. What's more, the trade war that is starting up will curb economic activity." . It calls on public authorities to act swiftly on four levers: tax pressure, energy costs, regulatory complexity resulting in particular from the European Green Pact, and the attractiveness of industrial professions.
