The French laundry and drycleaning sector is experiencing stable growth rates this year thanks to a steady demand from a strong tourism sector and the overall improvement of the current economic situation in the country. The situation does not mirror that of the Government which is in shambolic disarray following a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister in early September.
According to news agency Reuters (Paris, 8 September): “France’s Parliament brought down the Government on Monday over its plans to tame the ballooning national debt, deepening a political crisis that is weakening the euro zone’s second-largest economy. Lawmakers voted to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and his minority government with 364 votes against the veteran centrist politician and 194 in his favour.” Bayrou is the second Prime Minister of France to be ousted so far this year.
Now, as LCNi goes to press, President Macron has named his close ally Sebastien Lecornu as new French PM. However, pundits say Lecornu will face tough battles over the budget as protests are set to take place. So, how can a country undergoing a national debt crisis have an economy that is actually doing not too badly? Let’s see.
This year, the French economy generally stabilised after last year’s cuts for welfare, health, pensions and local governments, as well as tax rises, initiated by the former Prime Minister Michel Barnier. That created some hope for local economists and analysts about the growth of the French economy this year and some of its key sectors, including textile care services. Whether that continues in the light of recent events only time will tell.
Historically, the French laundry and drycleaning sector has been characterised by a plenty of competition and the presence of a number of strong players. Despite the high level of inflation and generally tough economic climate in recent years, many leading local players have announced their plans for the expansion of their French business, considering it as one of the most promising for growth in the EU market.
One such company is Christeyns, which sees big prospects for growth in the French market in years to come. As Emmanuel Regourd, operational director for France, told LCNi, the industrial laundry market in France is currently benefiting from a favourable economic climate, providing good opportunities for growth to local players.
According to Regourd: “This positive momentum is expected to continue in the coming years, within a context of strict environmental regulatory constraints. Current concerns of industry stakeholders, whether public or private, are focused on improving operational performance, monitoring wastewater discharge, and the need to reduce water and energy consumption. These issues are part of a broader ecological transition approach, encouraging laundries to make efforts in sustainability in order to reduce the environmental footprint of their activities.”
He says the company is focusing on offering smart washing processes, a range of eco-labeled products, and high-performance water and energy dosing systems and equipment.He added that in response to rising energy costs and increasingly scarce water resources – particularly in regions facing water stress – French laundries are intensifying their efforts to address both economic and ecological challenges.
At the same time, a major concern for the sector remains the ongoing and strategic pursuit of water consumption savings. That encouraged the company to apply its ‘REUSE’ stratagem –which is how to reuse water at every possible stage of the washing process, with the aim of optimising its life cycle and to introduce a number of Christeyns’ innovative solutions in this field.
Regourd explains: “The decree published in France in March 2025 authorising the reuse of wastewater in laundries marks a turning point for the sector. Christeyns plans to launch its ‘HydRO for laundries’ system on the French market in the coming months. HydRO is a compact water purification system developed by Christeyns and Veride to treat wastewater and reuse it in the production processes (up to 80% reduction in fresh water usage). To date, nearly 20 installations are operational across Europe delivering outstanding results.”
The French market has always been interesting to another laundry chemicals solutions provider, Ecolab. As Marie-Laure Pionnier, spokeswoman of the TCD west & hospitality segment Europe at Ecolab tells LCNi, since the beginning of the year the company has made serious efforts in expanding its French operations by launching of some new technologies and solutions.
Pionnier says: “In recent months, we successfully launched our new water recovery system – Water Optimizer Ultimate, an integral part of our 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) approach, at the URBH study days. This system reduces tunnel washer water consumption by 40% and overall gas consumption by 10%.
“In addition, we had the privilege of assisting our customer Blanchisserie de Paris in the construction of their third laundry, offering them our solutions for low temperature washing and water and energy reduction. A large-scale project with a new-generation plant, meeting their ambitions and their vision of an even more responsible industry.”
Commenting on future prospects for the French laundry and drycleaning sector Pionnier expects overall demand will continue to grow, but that the laundries will have to face up to some major challenges. “For example, today, optimising the use of natural resources is a real challenge for laundries and even more so since the recent drought. In France, since March 2023, a water sobriety plan, called the ‘PLAN EAU’, has been in place and should help achieve the national objective of reducing water withdrawals by 10% by 2030. Laundries are directly affected by this. Unfortunately, even washing textiles at low temperatures with good management of the washing process is no longer enough. That’s why Ecolab has invested in innovative chemicals, equipment, and technologies to help laundries push the boundaries and set new standards for resource efficiency and climate protection in the laundry industry,” says Pionnier.
The French market remains one of the most promising for another global major, this time on the appliance front, Alliance. This is confirmed by recent statements from Guillaume Verdoucq, country manager Alliance France, according to whom the company demonstrated a very good growth dynamics in France in the first half of the current year, as its local business grew by over 20%.
Verdoucq explains: “Now, Alliance France is closer to the market especially in the healthcare segment. In order to develop our main commercial brand Primus, we do have more sales representatives closer to our partners and together they’re proposing turnkey solutions from A to Z thanks to our full rental proposal. Furthermore, Alliance France is proud to be RABC certificated, which is the European standard for hygiene in laundry environment.”
According to Verdoucq, despite the good performance of the company, the overall situation in the industry remains generally complex. “The drycleaning segment is suffering and the number of stores closing drastically for the last five years. The remaining drycleaners did switch mainly from solvent-based machines, due to the price and new regulations, to alternative solvents and wetcleaning solutions.”
He says the drycleaning segment is now slightly moving to the laundry business which includes bed sheets, towels from small capacity hotels, Air BNB and some individual households. “Those new customers are looking for seasonal flexibility, but also the possibility for the hotel to own their own personalised linen,” he adds.
Jensen France also reported a good performance in the French market this year. As Michel Miklanek, general manager Jensen France revealed, Jensen France has a solid order book for 2025 and will continue to grow in the French laundry market.
He explains that the French market is divided into two sectors, hospital laundries linked to public service and linen rental groups such as Elis, Kalhyge, Anett, Sdez, followed by a few independent units such as Cercle du Propre and private laundries. He adds that Jensen France has strong relationships with representatives of all segments.
Miklanek believes tourism will be one of the major drivers for growth for French laundry and drycleaning sector in years to come, commenting: “France is still the world’s leading destination for tourism with 100 million international visitors in 2024 [according to figures from the French Government], the hotel sector is booming and many hotel construction projects are underway, laundries are benefiting from this growth and profitability is increasing every year with an average growth of 13.7% in 2024, the health sector is stable and still mainly handled by French hospitals, which have 350 units in France. The main challenges for our customers and indirectly for us concern the costs of gas, electricity and the new regulations on water use.
“The preservation of resources is a major issue and the reduction in consumption initiated several years ago in the laundry sector continues, so we must offer ever more economical machines, the automation already present in the washing sector is also a challenge in the sector of sorting dirty laundry both for the hotel industry and especially in the healthcare sector where the risks of handling contaminated linen must be avoided by operators. These solutions are already offered by the Jensen Group and we now have several fully automated sorting facilities in France for soiled linen.”
The importance of the French market for the company is also confirmed by Thomas Zeck, commercial director at Kreussler Textile Care, according to whom Kreussler continues to increase its market presence and awareness as a full-service provider for textile care.
Zeck comments: “The first half of 2025 saw solid partnerships like for example with the large French industrial laundry Christalex, who reopened with double their former size in April 2025 after a devastating fire, new partnerships with e.g. one of the largest French leasing companies, as well as our continuous engagement in the sector of public/healthcare laundries, working with associations like the URBH which brings together nearly 300 hospital linen professionals in more than 250 public, health, and accommodation establishments throughout France.”
He adds: “As the company is supplying its customers both via sales partners and directly, it continues to strengthen its market expansion in relation to small and medium-sized as well as larger laundries by providing their favorite way of buying and delivery. We also cater to the trend of market expansion in traditional textile cleaning, for example a drycleaner adding a washing machine to provide classic washing for care homes, the PSA market, or small restaurants and hotels.”
Zeck expects the demand for professional laundry and drycleaning services in France will continue to grow in the coming years, especially regarding the first.
“Several key trends and developments are contributing to this positive outlook. Firstly, industrial laundries are becoming increasingly important – not only due to economic efficiency, but also because of clear ecological advantages. As sustainability and environmental responsibility gain momentum across all sectors, the textile care industry is in a strong position to contribute meaningfully. Industrial laundries use significantly less water and energy per kilogram of textiles compared to domestic washing. Furthermore, professional textile care products and processes help extend the life of textiles significantly, therefore reducing the carbon footprint, e.g. through gentler treatment and innovative alternatives to fiber-destroying chlorine bleach.”
Zeck beleives there is also a continued growth in the healthcare and care sectors, where hygiene standards are absolutely critical. Zeck also added that, in the field of textile cleaning, regulatory changes are also shaping the future. An example is the ban on perchloroethylene in France, which has been fully enforced since 2022, which made some adjustments in day-to-day operations for Kreussler and other local operators.
“We are also observing strong momentum in the self-service sector, which is evolving beyond its traditional customer base. Intelligent marketing concepts and multifunctional product solutions are attracting new user groups who previously would not have considered using a selfservice laundry. This is opening up exciting opportunities for growth and innovation. Finally, trade shows like Texcare France in Paris (see page 26 for LCNi’s preview) are playing an essential role in strengthening the textile care sector. The successful takeover of the French JET Expo by the Messe Frankfurt Group via its French subsidiary, rebranding it as Texcare France in 2023, has already increased the visibility and stimulative impact of the event.
Finally, Marco Niccolini, general sales and marketing director) of Renzacci also speaks about the large potential of the French laundry and drycleaning market despite the challenges which may slow down the existing growth rates of the market. He says that in recent years the market has faced a serious decrease of laundry and drycleaning outlets, especially in the biggest cities where they have almost completely disappeared. He expects the situation will change, beginning in 2026. He adds the demand for natural solvents in the industry is steadily growing and that trend he expects to extend in to the foreseeable future.
