France Faces Rising Egg Shortages Amid Growing Demand and Production Challenges

France is experiencing a significant increase in egg shortages in 2025, with shelf availability increasingly scarce in stores. According to NielsenIQ data cited by Le Figaro, the average egg shortage rate nationwide has reached 13.3% since the start of 2025, marking a 7.7 percentage point rise from 2024. Hypermarkets suffer higher disruption at 15.3%, compared to 11.8% in supermarkets, although both remain below the peak shortages exceeding 18% observed earlier this year. Normally, a 2% shortage rate is considered acceptable, highlighting the severity of the current situation. This shortage is driven by an 8.3% increase in egg demand versus the previous year, fueled by consumer preference for protein-rich, affordable food amid falling purchasing power. Consumption rose 4.7% between 2023 and 2024 and by 3.9% in the first seven months of 2025. However, the French egg production sector — the largest in Europe — struggles to meet demand following extensive avian flu culling in 2022. While industry figures prefer to describe the issue as "tensions" rather than a shortage, plans are underway to construct hundreds of new farms with the goal of restoring France's "egg sovereignty" by the end of 2027, according to Yves-Marie Beaudet, president of the National Committee for Egg Promotion. This development marks a mounting challenge for French agriculture as it attempts to align production capacity with surging consumer needs amid ongoing health and supply disruptions.