Paris: According to information released by the national statistics bureau Insee, France's inflation accelerated in April as a result of a spike in energy prices. 

The new data showed that consumer prices increased by 5.9% on an annual basis last month, up from 5.7% in March. Following a 4.9% increase in March, the growth in energy prices soared to 6.8% in April, primarily as a result of rising fuel prices.   

In the meantime, the rise in petrol prices slowed from a reading of 35.6% in March to a reading of 22.9% in April. 

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15% year-over-year growth in food prices was slightly slower than the 15.9% increase seen in March. The decrease in demand was caused by a seasonal drop in the cost of fresh goods.

Despite the slower rate of price growth, Insee economists claimed that the cost of food has increased at a faster rate than the cost of energy, which has had a significant impact on inflation overall.   

According to a recent survey by the market research firm Elabe, 43% of French consumers have reduced their purchases of specific foods due to inflation. 43% of those polled claimed to have reduced their meat intake, 34% said they were buying less fish, and 27% said they had stopped eating cakes and biscuits.

The majority of French consumers have had to change their shopping habits, with 44% choosing to buy less expensive food and 30% now buying smaller quantities. 

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Bruno Le Maire, the French Finance Minister, predicted that inflation would reach its peak this summer and then begin to decline in March. Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France, acknowledged that inflation in the Eurozone is still too high and that it remains the main concern and top priority for monetary policy.  

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The French government introduced a "anti-inflation food basket" in March, which included about 50 basic items and forbade large retailers from raising prices on these items until June.