Informations Rapides · 15 January 2026 · n° 8

Further slowdown in annual average consumer prices in 2025 Price Index – Annual average rates of change - year 2025

On average over the year, consumer prices slowed down again in 2025. The inflation was up by 0.9%, after +2.0% in 2024 and two years of high inflation (+4.9% in 2023 and +5.2% in 2022). Excluded tobacco, consumer prices were also less dynamic than in 2024: +0.9% in 2025, after +1.8% in 2024. The decrease in inflation was driven by the sharp fallback in energy prices (‑5.6% after +2.3%). It was amplified by a slowdown in prices in all other sectors: services (+2.3% after +2.7%), tobacco (+4.3% after +10.3%), food (+1.2% after +1.4%) and manufactured products (‑0.3% after stability).

Core inflation was lower in 2025, climbing to +1.2%, after +1.8% in 2024.

As an annual average, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose by 0.9% in 2025, after +2.3% in 2024.

In 2025, the prices of energy fell back strongly (‑5.6% on average, after +2.3% in 2024): the sharp decrease in electricity prices (‑11.9% on average after +15.7%) more than offset the sharp increase in gas prices (+9.7% on average after ‑1.0%) and the smaller decline in petroleum product prices (‑4.4% on average after ‑4.7%).

The prices of transport services increased less on average from 2024 to 2025 (+0.5% after +2.5%).

In 2025, the food prices rose by 1.2% on average, after +1.4% in 2024. This slowdown affected prices excluding fresh produce (+1.2% on average after +1.3%) and also those of fresh food (+1.0% on average after +1.9%).

In 2025, the prices of manufactured products decreased by 0.3% on average, after a stability in 2024. The prices of health products kept falling : -1.7% on average in 2025 after ‑1.2% en 2024. The prices of “other manufactured products” fell back slightly (‑0.1% on average after +0.2%). Conversely, those of clothing and footwear accelerated (+0.7% on average after +0.4%).

In 2025, the inflation in “other services” decreased (+3.1% on average after +3.9%) but remained far above the global inflation. The prices of catering slowed down (+2.1% on average after +3.1%), as did those of maintenance and repair of private vehicles (+2.9% on average after +3.6%) and those of cultural and recreational services (+1.8% on average after +3.6%). Conversely, prices of accommodation services accelerated (+3.7% on average after +3.1%), as did those for social protection (childcare services, nursing homes for the elderly and residential facilities for people with disabilities, home‑care services; +4.1% on average after +3.5%) and those of insurance services (+8.3% on average after +8.0%).

To a lesser extent, the prices in services for dwellings (actual rentals, supply of water and refuse collection fees, sewage collection and heat energy) decelerated in 2024 (+2.6% on average, after +2.8%). This slowdown was explained by the fall in sewage collection prices (‑0.6% on average after +5.7%), which was not fully offset by the acceleration in prices of supply of water (+6.9% on average after +4.4%). The prices of rents actually paid by tenants rose at the same rate as in 2024 (+2.3% on average).

The prices of health service accelerated in 2025 (+1.7% on average after +0.6%), particularly due to the increase in those of general practitioners (+12.2% on average after +4.9%) mainly related to the increase in consultation fees.

The prices of communication services fell again (‑8.7% on average after ‑8.1%), notably due to the decrease in prices of wireless telephone service (‑15.9% on average after ‑15.5%) and bundled telecommunications services (‑8.4% on average as in 2024).

According to their consumption structure, households were subject to a global inflation more or less pronounced. In 2025, prices have slowed down overall for all household households in mainland France. The annual inflation was between +0.7% and +1.2% depending on the age of the reference person in the household. In younger households, the consumption of services, whose prices were more dynamic, weighted more heavily, while the purchase of food, whose prices rose less, weighted less heavily. The annual inflation was 0.8% on average for homeowners, 1.0% for first-time buyers and 1.1% for tenants. Depending on income levels, inflation ranged from 0.6% for the more modest households to 1.1% for the most well-off. For the latter, energy prices, whose prices have fallen, weighted less heavily on their budgets, whereas they consumed more services.