The plastering and drywall market in France

Eurostat counts 32,761 active plastering companies in France in 2024, with 66,901 people employed, or about two people per company: plastering and drywall in France is a trade of craftspeople. The number of companies has grown by 17% since 2021 (27,972). According to Urssaf, the private sector has 9,604 employer establishments and 44,414 plastering employees at 31 December 2025, apprentices included.

Activity in plastering and drywall in France is slowing. After a peak of 47,550 employees at end-2023, salaried employment fell to 44,414 at end-2025 according to Urssaf, a drop of 6.6% in two years (calculated from Urssaf). The building context weighs on the trade: the Fédération française du bâtiment (the French building federation) estimates output at €193 billion in 2025, down about 6%, and maintenance and improvement at €117 billion, down about 1%.

Drywall work in France is carried out mainly by craftspeople and small plastering and insulation firms. The Union des métiers du plâtre et de l’isolation of the Fédération française du bâtiment (UMPI-FFB) represents more than 6,800 plaster and insulation professionals. Upstream, plasterboard and plaster come from manufacturers grouped in the Syndicat national des industries du plâtre (SNIP, the French plaster industry association): Placo, Knauf, Etex BPF, Fassa Bortolo, Isolava and Plâtres Vieujot, with 9 plasterboard plants in France.

According to the Syndicat national des industries du plâtre (the French plaster industry association), 237,000 tonnes of external plaster waste were recycled in 2025 in plasterboard manufacturing in France, an increase of more than 15% despite a falling market. This represents nearly 45% of a deposit of 532,000 tonnes estimated by the Direction générale de la prévention des risques (the French risk prevention directorate). Processing capacity is due to rise from 245,000 tonnes in 2025 to 395,000 tonnes in 2026.

Yes. According to Eurostat, France imported 333,066 tonnes of paper-faced plasterboard in 2025, worth €107.8 million, compared with 490,534 tonnes and €156.7 million in 2023, a one-third fall in volume in two years (calculated from Eurostat). French exports of these boards reach €26.3 million in 2025. This drop in purchases from abroad reflects the slowdown in plastering and drywall work in France.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised in six chapters: definition and scope of the work, market size and dynamics, demand, supply and players, regulation and constraints, outlook.

Eurostat and Urssaf statistics, data from the Fédération française du bâtiment, the Syndicat national des industries du plâtre and UMPI-FFB, as well as trade press articles. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Craftspeople and plastering and insulation companies, materials manufacturers and distributors, project owners and developers, as well as business founders, bankers and investors who need to understand the plastering and drywall market in France.

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