Czech Republic

Political relations

The relationship between France and the Czech Republic is encompassed by our EU membership. Our bilateral cooperation is governed by a strategic partnership agreement signed in 2008, for which the action plan 2018-2022 was signed at the Élysée Palace by the President of the Republic and the Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, in France for the commemorations of the centenary of the creation of the Czechoslovak army, held at Darney in the Vosges Department on 30 June 2018. It is due for renewal for the period 2023-2027.
The successive French and Czech Presidencies of the Council of the European Union in 2022 gave new impetus to our relations. Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited Paris on 7 June 2022 to meet the President of the Republic, who again met with the newly elected President Petr Pavel on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on 18 February 2023. Minister Colonna, meanwhile, received her Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavský, in Paris on 6 October 2023. The Minister of State for Europe, Laurence Boone, visited Prague on 27 and 28 April 2023 and met with her Czech counterpart, Martin Dvořák, on 24 August that year.

Economic relations

Our trade with the Czech Republic, which is France’s 15th-largest trading partner, stood at €14.45 billion in 2022, having been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Our imports (€8.6 billion) have increased by 12.1%, while our exports (€5.9 billion) have risen by 18.1%, helping reduce our trade deficit to an extent (€2.7 billion). By sector, 98% of bilateral trade concerns manufactured products, including 31% transport equipment and 27% mechanical, electrical, electronic and computer equipment. France has a structural bilateral surplus on chemicals, perfumes and cosmetics (€0.75 billion, after €0.57 billion in 2021), pharmaceuticals (€0.51 billion, after €0.5 billion), metal products (€0.12 billion) and agrifood products (0.1 billion). There are major cooperation prospects with the country, centred on the transport and energy sectors.
French companies are well established in the economic landscape, particularly in the automotive industry, transport, electrical equipment, energy and environmental services, financial services, construction, and the agrifood sector. Almost 1,200 companies in the Czech Republic have at least one French shareholder, and France was the third-largest foreign investor in the Czech Republic in 2021, excluding countries with attractive tax policies (foreign direct investment stock of €10 billion in 2021, or 7% of holdings).