French art galleries are reportedly financially struggling and skeptical amid a wavering art market.A survey by market researcher Iddem, conducted among the Professional Committee of Art Galleries (CPGA), found that 85 percent of the French gallery association’s 324 members were pessimistic about the economic well-being of the art sector this year. This follows a six percent drop in turnover among French galleries in 2024, with the global art market falling by a total of 12 percent per the UBS Art Basel 2025 report.“The market is back to the level of 2010, with a decade of growth lost,” Philippe Charpentier, a gallery owner and the new president of the CPGA, told Le Monde, with one fifth of French dealers also reporting a more than 20 percent drop in sales.France also lacks the young returning collector base of other countries like those in the Asian markets.“We’re having trouble attracting young people, whereas in other countries, like China, buyers are on average in their thirties,” Magda Danysz, vice president of the CPGA, told Le Monde. “Priorities have changed in France too; it’s the experience more than the object.”(The Asian art market, for its part, has been steady, if unspectacular, based on activity at Art Basel Hong Kong and at the auction houses this year.)The relentless pace of the art fair calendar, combined with the overall sluggish art market, has taken its toll on galleries across the globe, with a number of midsize galleries like Blum and Venus Over Manhattan closing up shop. Both noted the strain of following more traditional models, with Tim Blum of the eponymous gallery saying of his departure, “This is about the system.”Further citing an endless cycle of fairs, openings, obligations, and expectations that have reportedly grown more demanding year over year, Blum added, “It’s not working. And it hasn’t been working,” seeking instead “a more flexible model”.For his part, Adam Lindemann of Venus Over Manhattan previously said to ARTnews in an interview, “Do you want to know the truth about fair committees? They gleefully ask you to get down on your hands and knees, wag your tail, and beg for forgiveness.”While Art Basel’s expansion to Paris three years ago has brought attention to the French city, local galleries reported that they’ve seen a boost. Approximately 12 percent of French galleries reported major difficulties over the last 18 months, according to the survey, with several outstanding bankruptcy filings and expected closures.“No new player, opened after 2015, has been able to change scale, internationalize, or enter the fair system ,” Charpentier of CPGA said. “This risks, in the long term, atrophying the market, drying up diversity, and compromising our ability to propel our artists onto the international scene.”