Inflation: how long will it last? Bruno Le Maire responds

5.2% over one year. According to INSEE estimates, here is how high the inflation for the month of May 2022 is. Since the beginning of the year, the consumer price index has continued to rise. How long is this situation expected to last? Bruno Le Maire seems to have an idea. According to the forecasts of the Minister of the Economy, “we should get out of the inflation peak at the end of 2023”, he confided in an interview with Figaro on Tuesday, May 31.

“But then we will have a structurally higher level of inflation, around 2%, due to the regionalization of value chains and the very high cost of the energy transition”, he however warned.

Rebate on fuel, tariff shield, energy check… As for the aid to purchasing power put in place to protect French households from the constant rise in prices, they will be maintained “for as long as the sudden increase in energy prices and food”, assured Bruno Le Maire.

“Faced with this new reality, our first responsibility is to protect households and businesses. Cushioning shocks is the role of the state,” added the Bercy tenant.

And to recall: “The energy shield will be supplemented by a bill after the legislative elections, which will put in place the revaluation of pensions, the revaluation of social minima, the increase in the index point for civil servants and the tripling of the bonus Macron.”

These measures are however very temporary, he warned: “We must have the courage to explain to the French that transforming temporary measures into definitive measures would have an unbearable impact on public finances. One of the possible developments is to have devices more targeted to those who are most vulnerable.”