What does the structure of France's current account balance tell us about the situation of the French economy?

France's current account balance shows: A very large and growing external deficit in manufactured products; A very large external deficit for energy; A very large external surplus for services, especially tourism ; A roughly balanced capital income balance, with large amounts of capital income received and paid. This reflects: The deindustrialisation in France; France's strong energy dependence on the rest of the world; The fall in the level of sophistication of jobs in France (with jobs in tourism replacing manufacturing jobs); The important role of the CAC40, the major groups, and also the offshoring carried out by these companies, with the importance of repatriating earnings from the rest of the world. Even though France’s current account deficit is small relative to the trade deficit, the structure of France’s current account balance should be of concern.