France‘s consumer price index rose 2.2% in April 2026 on a year-on-year basis, following on from a 1.7% gain in March, driven by sharp increases in energy prices (+14.3%, following +7.4% in March).
In particular, the price of petroleum products contributed to the increase, with prices for diesel, petrol and liquid fuel 31.4% higher, on top of a 18.1% increase in March, the data, from French statistics body Insee, found.
Diesel prices climbed 42.1% on a year-on-year basis, while petrol rose 17.8% and liquid fuel prices jumped 58.9%, reflecting continued pressure from global energy markets and geopolitical disruption affecting oil supplies.
Core inflation
Core inflation – which excludes volatile items – edged up slightly to 1.2% from 1.1% in March.
Services inflation also accelerated modestly, reaching 1.8% year-on-year, helped by higher prices for accommodation, insurance and communications services, Insee said.
Transport services prices rose sharply month-on-month (+9.1%), largely due to seasonal increases in airfares and travel costs.
By contrast, food inflation eased to 1.2% from 1.8% in March, helped by slower increases in processed foods and non-alcoholic beverages.
”The prices of non-alcoholic beverages decelerated sharply (+3.3% after +7.8%); prices had risen by 4.3% over a month in April 2025 following the increase in tax on sugary and sweetened drinks,’ Insee commented.
‘Prices of sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery also slowed down (+1.6% after +3.9%), as did those of bread and cereals (+0.4% after +0.6%), and those of milk, other dairy products and eggs (+0.7% after +1.1%). Prices of oils and fats fell at a higher rate than in March (‑1.7% after ‑1.4%). Those of meat rose year on year at the same rate as in the previous month (+3.6%), as did those of alcoholic beverages (+0.5%).’
Elsewhere, manufactured goods prices continued to decline, falling 0.6% year-on-year.
The harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), used for eurozone comparisons, rose 2.5% annually in April, up from 2.0% in March. Read more here.
