A new report reveals that France’s private capital landscape delivered uneven results in the second quarter of 2026, with venture capital facing softer dealmaking while private equity saw a modest rebound in leveraged transactions. Overall activity reflected a fragile domestic economy and selective investor appetite, particularly around artificial intelligence.
PitchBook’s Q2 2026 France Market Snapshot highlights resilience in fundraising for venture funds alongside subdued exits across both asset classes.
The broader economy remained under pressure. GDP stagnated following a contraction in the first quarter, inflation climbed to 2.4% in May before easing to 1.8% in June, and unemployment edged higher.
The European Central Bank raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% in June, while the euro weakened against the dollar.
These conditions contributed to cautious sentiment in private markets.Venture capital activity cooled in volume but highlighted AI strength.
Deal count and value both declined quarter-over-quarter, with late-stage and venture-growth rounds capturing the largest share of capital deployed.
Healthcare and finance sectors led activity in the period.
The standout transaction was Alan’s €480 million late-stage round, valuing the AI-powered virtual doctor and insurance platform at €5.5 billion and marking one of two new unicorns created in the quarter.
Other notable financings included deals involving Morpho, Bionyra, Quobly, and LegalPlace.
Non-traditional investors continued to participate, though overall momentum remained concentrated in AI-related companies.
Exits rebounded sequentially to €1.9 billion, with a higher proportion of buyout-style realizations.
Technology exits dominated by count.
The largest was the €200 million sale of EfficientIP, a network management software provider, to Francisco Partners.
Fundraising proved more encouraging, reaching its strongest level since 2023 with €2.4 billion raised across 10 funds during the year to date.
Standout closings included Jeito II at over €1 billion and Kurma Biofund IV at €215 million, backed by Eurazeo, CSL, the European Investment Fund, and Bpifrance.
Private equity showed a partial recovery driven by leveraged buyouts.
Deal value reached €14.2 billion in the quarter, supported by an uptick in LBO activity and greater U.S. investor involvement, though France still trailed the UK and Germany in cross-border participation.
The largest transaction was Apollo’s €1.8 billion acquisition of Forvia’s Interiors business carve-out. Other notable deals included buyouts of Groupe Santiane (€410 million), Worldline (€400 million), and Proudreed (€400 million).
Exit activity remained muted at €4.5 billion for the third consecutive quarter, with no mega-deals and most realizations occurring at the middle-market level.
Top exits featured Groupe Santiane and several industrial and insurance-related transactions.
Fundraising got off to a slow start, with just seven new funds closing in the first half of the year and slightly more than €2 billion raised.
The Latour Small I fund closed at €400 million in April.Public equity markets underperformed regional and global peers.
The CAC 40 posted a 5.1% year-to-date gain with a forward P/E of 17.7x, lagging the STOXX Europe 600, FTSE 100, S&P 500, and DAX.
Luxury names remained volatile or flat, while aerospace, defense, and banking stocks advanced. M&A multiples stood at 12.7x EV/EBITDA, above the CAC 40’s level.
Only four companies listed publicly in the quarter, none raising more than €50 million.
Paris continued to dominate French private market activity, ranking second in Europe behind London on a long-term basis.
Bpifrance and the European Investment Fund remained the most active limited partners and investors across both venture and private equity.
Total private markets assets under management stood at approximately €600 billion, with venture capital AUM reaching €42 billion by the end of 2025.
The quarter underscored a bifurcated market.
AI-driven venture opportunities and select leveraged buyouts attracted capital, while broader deal flow and exits faced headwinds from economic uncertainty and limited liquidity. PitchBook concluded that fundraising resilience in venture capital offers a positive signal, yet sustained recovery will likely depend on improved exit pathways and macroeconomic stabilization.