#SAVINGS & FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
"Inflation is back." In August 2026, French consumer prices rose 2.4% year on year. But excluding energy and volatile items, core inflation fell, to 1.1%.
Published on September 28, 2026 · to be rechecked on October 15, 2026
The consumer price index rose 2.4% year on year in August 2026, after 2.1% in July and 1.8% in June. Almost all of the rise comes from energy: +16.7% over one year, including +36.4% for diesel. Services slowed (+1.9% after +2.2%), food stayed moderate (+1.1%) and manufactured goods kept falling (−0.4%). Core inflation, which excludes regulated tariffs and volatile prices, eased from 1.3% to 1.1%.
Is inflation picking up across all prices?
No: it's picking up at the pump. Excluding energy and volatile items, it is slowing.
In other words: the headline number and the one measuring the underlying trend tell two opposite stories this month.
Four caveats that belong with the number
- Not every household is in the same boat: for the lowest fifth of living standards, prices excluding tobacco are up 2.8% year on year, versus 2.3% on average.
- The EU harmonised index (HICP), used for cross-country comparisons, shows 2.6%, not 2.4%.
- Core inflation covers metropolitan France and is seasonally adjusted; the headline index covers all of France in raw data. The two can't be compared to the decimal.
- Outside energy, some items still accelerated: insurance (+3.7% after +2.3%) and communications (+10.1% year on year).
Why it still matters: reading August's inflation uptick as a broad-based surge means mistaking the price of diesel for the price of the basket.
For you
- Did you think the rebound in inflation was hitting all prices?
- Which number do you watch: headline or core inflation?
Source: INSEE, Consumer Price Index, final results for August 2026, Informations rapides No. 218, 15 September 2026.
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