Inflation registered a strong acceleration in February in France to settle at 3.6% year-on-year, driven by a near-year rise in prices, according to a first estimate by the Insee statistics institute.

He explained that after advancing by 2.9% in February, the CPI rose again due to “acceleration in energy prices, services, manufactured products, and inflation.”

Energy prices rose by 21% compared to February 2021, fresh products by 5.6%, and the services sector by 2.2% “due to the recovery in transport services prices.”

On the monthly front, the inflation rate increased by 0.7% in February compared to January.

The loss of purchasing power is the main concern of the French ahead of the presidential elections in April, in the context of rising energy prices that the government has sought to compensate with a series of measures.

France’s Institute of Statistics indicated on Friday that household purchasing power rose 1.9% in 2021, spurred by the economic recovery, tax cuts and government aid to combat inflation.

dga / tjc / zm