Annual inflation in France reached 2.1 percent in 2011, up from 1.5 percent in the previous year, mainly buoyed by soaring prices of energy products, the national statistics institute Insee said Thursday.
In 2011, "prices of energy products grew strongly" by 12.3 percent, while those of petroleum products also surged by 15.8 percent, the Insee said.
Meanwhile, prices of food products went up by 1.9 percent from 2010, whereas costs for services, such as transportation and tourism, rose by 1.7 percent.
Manufactured prices also increased slightly by 0.1 percent, but prices of clothing and leather products remained stable.
French officials have set a target inflation rate of 1.7 percent for the whole year of 2012./.