Inflation in France recorded a slight decrease in 2023 compared to the previous year. Consumer price increases averaged 4.9%, compared to 5.2% in 2022. This is indicated by the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) on Friday 12 January.
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEI) released on January 12, its final results of the Consumer Price Index for December 2023. The summary table shows a slight slowdown in prices. Annual inflation averaged 4.9%, which was 5.2% in 2022, 1.6% in 2021 and 0.5% in 2020, summarizes the published document. Excluding tobacco, consumer prices are also less dynamic at 4.8% compared to 5.2% recorded in 2022.
The impact of a sharp downturn in energy prices
The institute explained that the decline in inflation was due to a sharp slowdown in energy prices to 5.6% in 2023 from 23.1% previously. In contrast to this slower energy price curve, the apparent increase in food prices reached 11.8% compared to the previous 6.8%. Progress is more moderate in terms of manufactured products, reaching 3.5% against 3.0%, while services prices continued to rise in 2023, at roughly the same average rate as the previous year’s 3%. As for underlying inflation, it is more pronounced at 5.1% in 2023, up from 3.9% in 2022.
Prices in health services continue to decline
In detail, the slowdown in energy prices recorded in 2023 is explained “Especially from the partial decline in petroleum products (+29.0% after -1.7%)”. A reason that also emphasizes the prices of transport services, which, in turn, increased less than in 2022 on average (+6.3% compared to 10.4%). The health services section is witnessing a drop in prices. In fact, they fell by an average of 0.2% during 2023, a previous decline of 0.1% recorded in 2022.
The older you are, the owner rather than the tenant, the more inflation is felt
By distribution according to household categories, the price increase is more or less pronounced, the institute notes. The latter points out that in 2023, the average increase is the highest for households where the reference person is between 60 and 74 years of age (+5.8% compared to +5.1% in 2022), and when the reference person is less than 30 years old (2022 +4.4% compared to +4.2% in Also, it noted that inflation is 0.3 points higher than the average annual inflation of all households for owners and 0.2 points lower for renters.
