Property owners in France are increasingly installing smaller swimming pools.
The reasons are varied, but sales professionals cite reduced garden sizes in new-build homes and shrinking household budgets as major factors.
More diverse clients, coupled with different aspirations, are also driving the trend, as well as the fact tiny pools are exempt from taxation.
Once largely the preserve of second-homes in rural areas, the demand for pools has now extended to main homes in urban areas. Small pools, in particular, now account for a significant percentage of total revenues for installers.
DIFFAZUR
Swimming pool trends
France is the second-largest market for swimming pools globally, with approximately 3.5 million installed in the country, behind the US with 10.4 million.
However, France has the highest number of pools per capita, with one pool for every 19 people, compared to one for every 31 in the US.
“We have seen a steady rise in smaller pools since the 1970s. As budgets shrink, so do garden sizes, which impacts the size of swimming pools. Everything is adapted to this new reality,” said Philippe Bach, president of swimming pool firm Procopi, in a documentary released a decade ago.
DIFFAZUR
“This trend is even more pronounced today,” Gilles Mouchiroud, executive director at Desjoyaux swimming pool company, told The Connexion.
“Thirty years ago, we sold 12m x 6m pools. Twenty years ago, it was 10m x 5m, and 10 years ago, 8m x 5m. Today, we are selling more 7m x3.5m pools, even 6m x3m.”
Ad
Adrien Saget, director of sales at swimming pool company Diffazur, compared the trend to the boom of city cars in the mid-2010s. “A proportion of clients preferred smaller, fully-equipped cars over bulky 4x4s,” he said.
Diffazur’s equivalent of a city car is the IXESS, a mini swimming pool marketed as offering "maxi-comfort". Sizes range from 10m² to 22m², with prices from €30,000 to €80,000 depending on transportation, installation costs, and equipment.
“It’s been a bit of a surprise. We did not expect this product to become so popular,” said Mr. Saget.
The company now offers six different IXESS models to meet demand, and this particular pool represents 15% of Diffazur’s total sales, or 150 pools per year.
DIFFAZUR
At Desjoyaux, small pools make up between 8% to 10% of sales.
Orders for mini swimming pools are coming from across France – not only from the already mature market in the south, Mr Mouchiroud noted.
DIFFAZUR
Even in southern France, the strongest market for pool companies, there has been a surge in demand from a new profile of owners.
Mr Saget said that homeowners in central Nice, for example, are joining the trend. They tend to use mini pools as additional rooms of relaxation, rather than for swimming or sports, as was common decades ago.
Smaller pools also mean less maintenance, and companies have developed products and systems to maximise comfort, often including heating systems, cleaning machines, and home automation tools.
Another factor driving the demand for mini pools is their tax status – exempt if they measure less than 10m². Any bigger and the French government considers pools taxable assets because they increase property value. In 2025, each square metre cost €262.
DIFFAZUR
Many pools are undeclared, and the government has recently made efforts to better identify tax-evading owners. Using artificial intelligence tools, it found more than 20,356 undeclared pools in 2022, collecting €10million in taxes.
Both Mr Saget and Mr Mouchiroud note that the relative absence of administrative paperwork is a compelling reason for clients to choose mini pools. However, they must still comply with local urban planning regulations (Plan local d’urbanisme).
“One of our duties is to advise our clients about these regulations. Several of them were unaware that they had to file a construction declaration with the French tax authorities and inform their insurance company,” said Mr Saget.
