The annual average takes into account the inflation levels of the 12 months of a calendar year, and price increases were lower at the start of the year last year, hence the difference between the two rates.

Average inflation was 1.6% in 2021.

Over the whole of last year, "the rise in inflation results from an acceleration in energy prices (+23.1% after 10.5% in 2021) and food (+6 .8% after +0.6%), and to a lesser extent manufactured goods and services, which rose by 3%, detailed the National Institute of Statistics in its press release.

Core inflation, which excludes transitory price variations to focus on deep inflationary trends, is also rising very sharply, rising from 1.1% on average in 2021 to 3.9% in 2022. .

The target of the European Central Bank (ECB) is inflation stabilized at around 2%.

For a long time, price increases were below this target in the euro zone, before suddenly exceeding it in 2022.

At the end of the year, price inflation fell to 5.9% over one year in December, against 6.2% in October and November, with core inflation over one year remaining stable compared to November, at 5.3%.

Over one year, the increase was still driven in December by energy prices, up 15.1% compared to December 2021, and food prices, which increased by 12.1%.

Inflation in France © / AFP

Over one month, the consumer price index fell by 0.1% in December, due to the fall in energy prices, which fell by 3.6%.

But food prices rose 0.5% from November.

Finally, the harmonized consumer price index (HICP), used for comparisons on a European scale, increased by 6.7% in December, against 7.1% in November, also confirmed INSEE.

Over one month, the HICP fell by 0.1%, against a rise of 0.4% in November.

© 2023 AFP