French FM Le Maire aims for annual inflation at 5% in early 2024: Report

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that he aims to bring down the country's annual inflation rate to 5 per cent by the beginning of 2023.

Presenting the government's economic objectives at a debate on the protection of companies, Le Maire said that he wanted to reduce inflation to 4 per cent by the end of 2023 and 2 per cent in 2024, reports Xinhua news agency.

He acknowledged that the price increases "generate anxiety" for households.

"It is not just an economic difficulty, it is a social difficulty, a political difficulty. People feel taken by the throat ... and that is how political crises start," the Minister said.

In September, the country's consumer price index increased by 5.6 per cent year-on-year after 5.9 per cent in August, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.

--IANS

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