Sales value of manga titles sold in France 2010-2020, by type

Between 2010 and 2020, the total sales value of manga comics amounted to more than 1.2 billion euros in France. Shōnen manga (targeted toward a young male audience) was the most lucrative type of manga, with a sales value of nearly 780 million euros.

The manga phenomenon in France

While France’s manga history dates back to the early 1990s, the industry experienced an unprecedented spike in demand and revenues over the past few years. In 2021, the number of manga volumes sold in France stood at an estimated 28 million – more than double the amount sold just five years prior. Sales figures also highlight that manga accounted for over half of all comic titles sold in France in 2020, underscoring why France currently ranks as the second-largest manga market outside Japan.

Best-selling manga series

The growing appetite for manga was undeniably fueled by the translation of popular titles such as "Demon Slayer" and the extensive catalog of anime series that have become available on streaming platforms across the country. So which titles are French manga fans reading? In 2021, the first volume of "Solo Leveling", an adaptation of a South Korean novel series, was the best-selling manga title in France with a sales value of nearly 1.8 million euros. However, based on sales volume, several "Demon Slayer" and "One Piece" editions sold an even more impressive number of copies that year.