French inflation revised upwards in February to 7.3% – final figures

PARIS (Reuters) – French annual inflation rose to a revised 7.3% in February from 7.0% in January, partly as a result of higher food prices, according to final figures from the INSEE statistics body on Wednesday.

The preliminary inflation figure for February released last month was 7.2%.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who has said he expects inflation to reach a peak this summer and then start to ease, reached a deal earlier this month with the country’s main supermarket chains to help shoppers cope with food price inflation.

France’s inflation peak will come in the first half of this year, French European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said last week, adding inflation across the euro zone was still too high and remained the top priority for monetary policy.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Toby Chopra)