France just caught a break on inflation. After months of climbing consumer prices driven by geopolitical energy shocks, June data shows inflation easing more than economists anticipated, largely thanks to falling energy costs.
The numbers heading into June
France’s EU-harmonised inflation index (HICP) jumped to 2.8% year-on-year in May 2026, the highest reading since February 2024. That was a meaningful acceleration from 2.5% in April 2026. The non-harmonised CPI told a similar story, climbing to 2.4% year-on-year in May from 2.2% the month before.
The culprit was energy. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had pushed oil costs higher, and those increases rippled through transportation and food prices.
Strip out energy and food from the equation, and the underlying picture looked considerably tamer. Core inflation, excluding those volatile categories, sat at just 1.6% year-on-year in May 2026.
