Inflation hits French households, fresh food prices rise sharply

It is not just petrol. Inflation is causing household costs across the board to rise in France, with several elements of daily life seeing costs increase even as wages remain stagnant. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables are among the products to see the most dramatic price increases across the last 12 months, reaching increases similar to fuel costs.

National statistics body Insee recorded a year-on-year increase of the indice des prix à la consommation (IPC, used to measure the impact of inflation on households) of +3.1% in September 2026. 

It also recorded a year-on-year increase of +1.5% to core inflation (inflation sous-jacente), compared to +1.1% in August. 

Increases come from the knock-on effect of the US-Israel conflict with Iran, and the subsequent increase in oil and transport prices. 

The figures reflect ongoing rises in the cost of living in France, which protestors cited as one of the main reason for nationwide demonstrations that took place last weekend and are being planned again for this weekend.  

At the same time, the situation in France is reflected in other countries, with both the UK and US showing similar inflationary rises. 

Food costs rise

Overall, the cost of food has increased by +1.4% across the last 12-months, but certain basic foodstuffs have seen much sharper increases. 

The biggest increase was for fresh food, with a +9.5% increase year-on-year. This has been caused both by higher transportation costs due to fuel increases, but also this summer’s droughts decimating crop yields across France and several other countries. 

Fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines and peppers saw a greater increase of +35.8%, with other fresh vegetables (carrots, turnips, garlic, onions, leeks, etc) seeing a +5.6% increase, and fresh fruits a +9.9% increase.

Price increases for other products such as eggs and dairy were much lower, at +0.2%, and prices for bread and cereals even decreased (-0.4%). 

The price of sugar and sugary products such as jam, honey, chocolate, and confectionery have increased only slightly (+0.9%).

This skewed increase, affecting mainly fresh and healthy food, has prompted politicians in both the Senate and Assemblée nationale to introduce bills aimed at regulating fresh food prices.

Stores with a surface area of 400m² or above would need to stock at least 80 ‘healthy’ products at near-cost prices across the year, including at least three in each major category (fruits, vegetables, pulses, etc).

The idea of the bill is that supermarkets would make up the difference by increasing costs for less healthy options. 

However, it has been criticised both by supermarkets and the Senate’s own economic affairs commission for being complex and potentially cutting into profit margins at a time when supermarkets are already facing difficulties.

Inflation increase in several sectors

Overall, the IPC actually decreased by -0.3% between August 2026 and September 2026, but this was down to seasonal reductions in certain sectors such as accommodation (a -15% drop) and transport (-9.8%), as well as service prices (-1.4%) at the end of summer. 

Energy costs continued to rise for the third consecutive month, as did food prices (by +0.1%, but following a +0.4% increase the month before).

When adjusted for seasonal variations the IPC increased by 0.8% between August 2026 and September 2026. 

Year-on-year increases to consumer prices are also stark, most prominently for energy, +21.3% compared to September 2025. This is largely due to the increase in fuel costs for vehicles, as well as for gas for heating homes.

Services – a wide range of costs for households – have increased by +2.4% year-on-year, with transport (+5.1%) a significant riser. This includes air and rail fares, but non-fuel vehicle transport service costs remain stable at +0.2%

Other costs including insurance (+4.4%) and accommodation (+4.9%) have also seen increases over the last 12 months, despite the latter seeing a fall in the last month. 

Many other service costs including childcare, nursing homes, in-home assistance, etc, have all increased.

Comparison with the UK and US

Overall inflation in France was still lower than in the UK and US where consumer prices rose by by 3.5% and 3.7% respectively in September.

In the UK, food and non-alcoholic drink prices rose by 1.3% over the year, while transport costs increased by 6.6%, according to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

In the US, supermarket prices rose by 1.8% and overall food prices, including eating out, increased by 2.5%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

UK and US figures, offering a year-on-year comparison with September 2025, show that inflationary rises remain a global problem following the fuel crisis linked to the Middle East conflict.