The pressure on French people’s wallets is easing a little: After two years of inflation and price increases on a scale not seen in the country since the early 1980s, cumulative inflation over the last twelve months has fallen below the 2% mark. according to a note published by INSEE this FridayA level of inflation that France had not seen since 2021 after a year 2022 concluded at +5.2% and 2023 at +4.9%.
Thus, in August 2024, cumulative inflation stands at 1.8%. But this does not mean that prices are falling: if inflation falls, it remains positive and therefore, on average, prices have increased by 1.8% over the last twelve months.
Concretely, and for example, this means that a product that you bought for 100 euros in August 2023, will cost you 101.8 euros this month. The good news is that wages increased faster than inflation in the second quarter, with an average increase of 0.8%, according to calculations by the Ministry of Labor.
But this value of 1.8% nevertheless hides significant disparities: Thus, fresh food products have seen an increase of 2.7% over a year, with a peak of +5% for fresh vegetables but only 1.6% for fruit.
In detail, this slowdown in inflation is essentially supported by the timid rise in energy prices (+0.4%) and the decline in manufactured products (-0.1%).