French rental market still fragile says DLR

The latest business barometer survey by French association DLR for the first quarter of the year reported a 2.0% year-on-year decline in the rental market, while sales of new construction equipment through distributors grew by 3.1%.

DLR, whose 1,000 members cover around 70% of the French market, said the economic environment remained fragile; “French GDP declined slightly (-0.1%), affected by weaker household consumption and investment. At the same time, inflation accelerated, mainly due to rising energy and fuel prices driven by tensions linked to the war in the Middle East.”

The association said business confidence among construction professionals had improved slightly, with indicators showing a recovery beginning at the end of 2025 and increases in building permits and housing starts.

DLR

However, the barometer survey found that rental activity declined by 2.0% in the quarter, while material handling (industrial forklift trucks) fell by 2.9%.

There was a sharp decline in sales of both new and used material handling equipment, despite resilience in rental and maintenance.

DLR said; “Geopolitical tensions, rising energy costs and a lack of economic visibility continue to delay projects and reinforce a wait-and-see attitude among customers.

“Renewed inflationary pressures also represent an additional risk in the coming months.”

It said any decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to increase interest rates would “could slow customer investment decisions, weaken the recovery in distribution activities and maintain pressure on both rental and materials handling businesses.”