France's inflation soars to 5.2% in May, highest since September 1985

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Annual inflation rate in France rose 5.2% in May, the highest since September of 1985, the French statistics agency said on Wednesday.

The figure was 4.8% in April, according to Insee.

The increase is mainly driven by the high energy prices (27.8%). The price of electricity slowed down to 6.5%, compared to 6.9% a year ago.

The prices also increased for services (3.2%), food (4.3%) and manufactured goods (3%).

Consumer prices rose 0.7% on a monthly basis, slightly above the preliminary estimates of a 0.6% rise.