The French wallet has been put to the test lately. Inflation is exploding, it jumped in March by 4.5% over one year, driven by energy and food but cushioned by government aid measures.
The consumer price index had not reached such a high level in France since December 1985 (4.7% over one year), according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies ( Insee). “It was expected but the increase was even greater than expected,” notes Charlotte de Montpellier, economist at ING. In February, the indicator stood at 3.6%, already a record since 2008.
Brutal leap of energies
As for the harmonized index (HICP), which serves as a basis for comparison at European level, it also soared, to 5.1% compared to March 2021, detailed INSEE in its first estimate of the inflation in March 2022.
As in previous months, the sharp jump in energy prices (+28.9% over one year) explains most of the rise in prices, while the war in Ukraine has caused the price of hydrocarbons to soar. But food, and more specifically fresh products (+7.2%), also fueled the movement. The cost of services increased much more modestly, at 2.3% over one year, while that of tobacco slowed down slightly (-0.1%).