Consumer prices in France increased by 3.1% in September 2026 compared with September 2025, up from 2.4% in August, according to new data from Insee, the French statistics office.
On a month-on-month basis, prices fell by 0.3% during September after increasing by 0.7% in August, while the seasonally adjusted monthly increase was 0.8%.
Energy price surge
The acceleration in annual inflation was driven primarily by energy costs, it noted. Energy prices increased by 21.3% over the year in September, compared with 16.7% in August and 12.6% in July.
On a monthly basis, energy prices were 3.9% higher during September, marking the third consecutive monthly increase, following rises of 3.4% in August and 2.3% in July.
Across the board, energy prices reported significant increases, petroleum prices increased by 36.2% year on year, compared with 28.7% in August. Diesel prices rose by 44.1%, compared with 36.4% in August, while petrol prices increased by 25.7%, compared with 19.1%.
Heating oil prices rose by 64.6%, compared with 47.8% in August. Natural-gas prices increased by 19.0%, against 14.3% in August, while electricity prices rose by 1.4%, compared with 1.1% in August.
Services inflation also accelerated, Insee added. Service prices were 2.4% higher than a year earlier, compared with 1.9% in August. Food prices increased by 1.4%, compared with 1.1% in August. Tobacco prices increased by 3.3%, unchanged from August.
Seasonal movements
The monthly fall in the overall CPI reflected seasonal movements in services. Services prices fell by 1.4% during September, after a 0.1% decline in August, Insee noted. Accommodation services fell by 15.0% and transport services by 9.8%.
These movements were partly offset by the 3.9% increase in energy prices. Manufactured-product prices increased by 0.5% and food prices by 0.1%.
Within food, the price of fresh products rose 9.5%, following on from a 5.9% increase in August and a 3.8% gain in July, largely driven by the impact of summer heatwaves. Tomatoes, for example, were 35.8% higher, while courgette prices were up 22.3%.
Core inflation also increased. Insee’s core measure recorded an annual rate of 1.5% in September, with the index increasing by 0.4% during the month. Read more here.
