The figures unveiled during the 32nd Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre, held from September 7 to 10, offer an interesting snapshot of a French audiovisual industry caught between two contrasting realities. On the one hand, export revenues fell sharply in 2025, reflecting the growing pressure on international buyers, pre-sales and traditional financing models. On the other, French programmes continue to travel extensively around the world, confirming France's remarkable ability to maintain visibility across fiction, documentary and animation.
Rather than signalling a loss of international appeal, the data raise a broader question about how the value of content is being reshaped in an increasingly fragmented global market — and whether traditional export revenues still provide a complete picture of a programme's international success.French audiovisual exports suffered a significant correction in 2025, but the country's programmes continue to enjoy an exceptionally strong presence on screens around the world, according to figures unveiled by the CNC and Unifrance during the 32nd Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre.The results were presented on Tuesday, September 8, during a morning session dedicated to the international performance of French audiovisual content, followed by a discussion with distributors on how the business is adapting to increasingly difficult market conditions.
Export Revenues Drop to €282.7 Million
Total international revenues generated by French audiovisual programmes reached €282.7 million in 2025, down 28.1% from the exceptionally high €393 million registered a year earlier.
Programme sales declined 21.6% to €164.3 million, while international pre-sales recorded the sharpest fall, dropping 59.3% to €30.7 million. Foreign co-production contributions were comparatively more resilient, although they also fell by 18.7% to €87.7 million.
Presenting the figures, the CNC pointed to a combination of structural pressures affecting the international content business: public and commercial broadcasters are reducing financial commitments, buyers are becoming increasingly selective and streaming platforms are rationalising acquisition spending while prioritising locally commissioned programmes.
The figures therefore confirm a wider contraction already being felt by producers and distributors across the global television market.
Opening the session, Unifrance President Gilles Pélisson nevertheless stressed that the available numbers tell only part of the story. Data covering acquisitions and international contributions from global platforms remain incomplete, making it increasingly difficult to measure the full economic value generated by French programming.
Pélisson warned that greater transparency from platforms would be essential if producers are to understand the international value of their works and continue financing independent and ambitious production.
His comments came just one day after the Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. The international gathering placed many of the same issues at the centre of the debate: artificial intelligence, protection of intellectual property, piracy, cultural diversity and the need for new international financing structures for the screen industries.
The Summit also launched the Lumière Partnership, through which France and South Korea plan to mobilise a combined €1 billion over five years to support cinema, audiovisual and moving-image industries.
Fiction Remains France's Leading Export Genre
Despite a difficult year, fiction retained its position as France's leading audiovisual export genre for the fourth consecutive year, generating €54.9 million, although sales were down 27%.
Crime remains one of the country's most reliable international propositions. In particular, buyers continue to respond strongly to accessible "light crime" series including Tropiques Criminels, Astrid et Raphaëlle, Tom et Lola and Alexandra Ehle. Event drama such as Sambre and Les Sentinelles has also found international buyers.
Documentary proved significantly more resilient.
Sales slipped by only 2.7% to €43.1 million, making documentary France's second-largest audiovisual export genre with a 26.2% market share.
French producers continue to enjoy a strong international reputation in history, science, geopolitics and current affairs, although distributors acknowledged that broadcasters are increasingly favouring event-driven documentaries and locally relevant subjects.
The most striking shift concerned animation.
French animation sales dropped 30.3% to €32.2 million, meaning that for the first time the genre fell to third position in the country's export ranking.
The decline reflects a children's and animation sector that was among the first to feel the effects of the global commissioning slowdown, changing viewing habits and reduced acquisition budgets.
France Remains No.3 Worldwide on Linear Television
The more encouraging picture came from Unifrance's analysis of the international visibility of French programmes.
Despite declining revenues, France maintained its position as the world's third most represented country on international linear television in 2025, behind only the United States and the United Kingdom — and ahead of every other EU country.
On subscription streaming platforms, France ranked seventh worldwide, behind the major English-language territories and several Asian production markets that have established a particularly strong position in global streaming catalogues.
The rankings underline one of the distinctive strengths of the French audiovisual sector: its ability to export successfully across several genres rather than relying on one dominant category.
Animation and children's programming remain particularly visible internationally. Franchises including Miraculous, Grizzy and the Lemmings and PJ Masks continue to generate extensive international exposure, notably on specialised children's channels in markets such as the UK and Brazil.
Documentaries including Ancient Superstructures, D-Day, Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature and I Am Martin Parr also illustrate the breadth of the French offer. Unifrance found that documentary was the French genre with the largest proportion of recent titles appearing on SVOD platforms.
In fiction, crime and light procedural series remain highly exportable, with programmes such as Meurtres à..., Candice Renoir and Profilage continuing to circulate internationally alongside more distinctive scripted titles including Le Bureau des Légendes.
Western Europe Still Drives the Business
Geographically, Western Europe remains by far the largest destination for French audiovisual exports, accounting for €76.7 million, or 46.7% of global programme sales.
North America returned to second place with €18.9 million, up 14.7%, although the CNC noted that the improvement was heavily influenced by the particularly strong performance of one international sales company in the region.
Central and Eastern Europe generated €12.2 million, while Asia/Oceania fell to €8.7 million, its lowest level recorded in the study.
Another significant trend is emerging in the way rights are sold.
Traditional television and 360-degree rights still account for the majority of export revenues, at 54.4%, while non-linear rights fell to 34.8%.
Within digital, however, AVOD is growing rapidly, accounting for 14.3% of programme sales in 2025, compared with 9.6% the previous year.
That expansion was not enough to compensate for lower SVOD revenues, but it suggests that advertising-supported streaming and digital exploitation are becoming an increasingly important part of the distribution mix.
