France Inflation Rate Rises from 5-Year Low

2026-02-27 07:57 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

France’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 1% in February 2026, up from 0.3% in January which was the lowest reading since December 2020, and above market expectations of 0.8%, according to preliminary estimates.

The rebound was partly driven by a more moderate decline in energy prices (-3% compared with -7.6% in January), reflecting a base effect linked to electricity prices, which had fallen sharply in February 2025.

Meanwhile, prices of manufactured goods declined at a slower pace (-0.3% vs -1.2%).

At the same time, food price inflation accelerated to a two-year high of 2.1% (from 1.9%), while services inflation edged up to 1.8% (from 1.7%) and tobacco prices rose at a faster annual rate of 3% (from 2.7%).

Compared to the previous month, the CPI went up 0.7%, the most in two years, after a 0.3% gain in January.

Considering the EU-harmonised CPI, the annual inflation went up to 1.1% from 0.4%, much higher than forecasts of 0.7%.



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