Bank of France's Villeroy sees inflation returning to 2% in 2027, 2028

PARIS - Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Monday he expected the inflation rate to return to 2% in 2027-2028 after a spike this year triggered by higher energy prices caused by "an unprecendent shock".

"We will first have a surge in inflation in 2026 this year, so inflation according to the scenarios would be between a little less than 2% on average annually or more than 3%," he said in an interview on BFM TV station. "But inflation would return to the target of 2%."

He added the bank expected France to avoid recession this year, with economic growth of between 0.3% and 0.9% "in the most optimistic scenario".

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Inti Landauro; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 2:47 AM.