France, Aug. 7 -- France's unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, its highest level in nearly six years, according to figures published by the national statistics agency Insee on Friday.

The rate increased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the first three months of the year, reaching a level last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic in autumn 2020.

Excluding that exceptional period, unemployment is now at its highest since the third quarter of 2019.

The number of unemployed people, based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) definition, rose by 62,000 over the quarter to 2.7 million.

Despite the increase, the unemployment rate remains 2.2 percentage points below its mid-2015 peak, Insee said. ...