diff --git a/Python/formatter_unicode.c b/Python/formatter_unicode.c
index a263efc84f8..aa62502dbef 100644
--- a/Python/formatter_unicode.c
+++ b/Python/formatter_unicode.c
@@ -1099,7 +1099,7 @@ format_float_internal(PyObject *value,
                          &locale, 0);
 
 done:
-    Py_DECREF(unicode_tmp);
+    Py_XDECREF(unicode_tmp);
     free_locale_info(&locale);
     return result;
 }