Cigarette prices in France from 1 March 2026: official list, changes by brand, taxation and impacts

From 1 March 2026, the retail prices of manufactured tobacco products (including cigarettes) in France are set by an approval order dated 9 February 2026, published in the Journal officiel and applicable from 1 March 2026; the price list can be consulted through the French customs open data service.

Executive summary

The official list applicable from 1 March 2026 confirms that many references remain unchanged (for example much of the “Camel”, “Winston”, “Marlboro” and “Philip Morris” ranges in packs of 20), while others rise (often by +0.20 € to +0.40 € depending on the reference) or, more marginally, fall (for example some “Fortuna” references).

On flagship “premium” references, the list shows increases taking certain “Dunhill” cigarettes to 14.00 € or 14.10 € (pack of 20) from 1 March 2026.
Alongside this, the closest thing to a national average available in official texts is the weighted average price (PMP) of cigarettes: for the year 2025 (reference value published at the end of January 2026), it stands at 627.07 € per 1,000 cigarettes, or about 12.54 € per pack of 20.

The budgetary impact for a smoker depends heavily on the brand (about 11.40 € to 14.60 € in the sample of references below). Using the 2025 weighted average price (about 12.54 € per pack of 20) as a benchmark, a smoker on 20 cigarettes a day spends about 376 € a month (30 days), or about 17% of the median net monthly private sector salary (2,190 € in 2024).

On the mechanics of price formation, French customs document that the price including tax is mainly made up of: excise duty (proportional share plus specific share, with a minimum collection amount), VAT calculated within the price, the retailer’s remuneration (gross discount) and the manufacturer’s margin.
As an order of magnitude, customs illustrate that a “premium” pack at 13.50 € on 1 January 2026 breaks down with a dominant tax share (excise duty plus VAT) and a retailer’s remuneration set as a percentage.

Finally, territorial and cross-border effects remain structurally significant: the French statistics institute Insee estimates that supplies bought abroad account for at least 9.5% of tobacco sales in France (border effect, price differentials).
The tobacconists’ confederation explicitly links the rise in legal prices to the growth of cross-border purchases and parallel markets.

New prices from 1 March 2026 and comparison with the previous level

The official reference

The prices below come from the official list “Approved prices – Order of 9 February 2026, applicable from 1 March 2026” (mainland France, excluding the overseas departments), which generally shows the old price and the new price (or the mention “unchanged”).
This list is consistent with the media coverage that referred to “expected tariffs” from 1 March 2026, since the customs annex is the legally binding reference.

Comparison table for major brands (pack of 20 cigarettes)

The following table shows a sample (widely sold brands plus “premium” brands and one case of a decrease), for packs of 20 cigarettes, with the change in euros and as a percentage.

National average price: the official indicator available

For an official “national average” indicator, the most directly usable text is the order setting the weighted average price (PMP) of cigarettes: 627.07 € per 1,000 cigarettes, which is equivalent to about 12.54 € per pack of 20 (weighted average price for the year 2025, published at the end of January 2026).
One important methodological point: the weighted average price is an indicator weighted by sales and calculated over the previous year; it does not mechanically recalculate the average of the catalogue as at 1 March 2026, but it is the most robust official reference for discussing an “average price” at national level.

Further lists have since been approved, including the one applicable on 1 September 2026.