French consumer prices rise 3.4 per cent year on year as energy accelerates again

30 October 2026

INSEE's provisional estimate puts French consumer price inflation at 3.4 per cent over twelve months, up from 3.1 per cent the month before. Over the single month prices rose 0.4 per cent after a fall of 0.3 per cent. The harmonised index used for European comparison, the IPCH, came in higher at 3.8 per cent year on year against 3.4 per cent previously. Energy is the driver: its prices were 24.1 per cent above a year earlier, after 21.3 per cent, accelerating for a fourth month in a row on gas and petroleum products. Services rose 2.7 per cent after 2.4 per cent. Food inflation eased to 1.2 per cent, with fresh food at 8.0 per cent, while manufactured goods were still 0.2 per cent cheaper than a year before and tobacco steady at 3.3 per cent. The figures come from Informations Rapides n° 266, a provisional release drawn from a restricted sample, which INSEE says must not be used to revise contract prices; the final October index was due on 13 November 2026.