On the eve of the summer holidays, inflation remains crushing.
In its latest publication, this Thursday morning, INSEE returned to the evolution of the consumer price index in recent weeks.
In June, inflation accelerated to 5.8% year on year, according to national statisticians.
Read alsoInflation: why the French are not all equal in the face of soaring prices
In its latest economic report, published last week, the institute forecast inflation at 5.9% this month.
The first estimate is therefore slightly lower.
In May, consumer prices had already peaked at 5.2%, "after 4.8% in April", according to national statisticians.
The rise in inflation is above all due to "an acceleration in the prices of energy and food", specifies the note, while the prices of manufactured goods are falling, thanks to the sales which began a few years ago. weeks, and those in services are slowing down.
Acceleration expected at the start of the school year before stabilization
Contrary to the start of the year, price increases are no longer contained in energy but are spreading widely across the various sectors of the economy, including food, services and manufactured goods.
Enough to push consumers to hoard when they can and to tighten their belts: on Wednesday, another INSEE publication reported that household confidence was down this month, "for the sixth consecutive month", reaching its lowest level since July 2013. Worried, they then limit their spending, bad news for the activity.
The situation should not improve for several months: INSEE expects inflation to accelerate to "just under 7% in September", before stabilizing by the end of the year, between 6.5% and 7%.
On average, the institute expects a rate of 5.5% for 2022, against 5.6% according to the Banque de France.
Although this is one of the lowest rates in the European Union, as the government regularly points out, it remains crushing for households.
The National Assembly will soon consider a new set of actions aimed at safeguarding purchasing power, but uncertainty remains as to the ability of the political groups to agree on the measures to be adopted.
APL, social minima, pensions, minimum wage, price freeze, lower taxes, food vouchers... The subjects to be discussed will be numerous, the sums at stake substantial, leading, without a doubt, to heated debates in the hemicycle.
