PARIS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire aims to bring down the country's annual inflation rate to 5 percent by the beginning of 2023, the daily Le Figaro reported on Thursday.
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 percent by the end of 2023 and 2 percent in 2024.
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," Le Maire said.
In September, France's consumer price index (CPI) increased by 5.6 percent year-on-year after 5.9 percent in August, the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) reported. ■
