0
Protesters demonstrating against rising prices attack a tourist office in Lyon, France, on the 17th (local time). / AP Yonhap

Following weeks-long high school walkout protests across France, massive demonstrations protesting rising living costs erupted nationwide on the 17th (local time).

The demonstrations, which drew an estimated 800,000 participants according to organizers (550,000 according to police), turned violent in some areas, leading to arson and looting. In Limoges, central France, the 140-year-old city hall building, listed as a historical monument, was gutted by fire after protesters set it ablaze.

Concerns have also surfaced in some quarters that the current unrest could mirror 2018, when demonstrations protesting fuel tax hikes escalated into nationwide anti-government unrest.

Amid these developments, local broadcaster franceinfo reported on an analysis tracking changes in the food price index over the past decade since 2016, prior to the outbreak of the first "Yellow Vest" protests.

Based on food price index data from Insee (the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), setting 2016 price levels at 100, prices in 2018—when the first Yellow Vest protests erupted—had risen by 3.5 percentage points.

As of 2026, the food price index has surged 34.8 percentage points compared to a decade ago, confirming that conditions are far more severe than during the initial Yellow Vest protests.

Vegetables and fruits saw the steepest price increases, with prices across the two categories skyrocketing by an average of 112 percentage points over the 10-year period.

Agricultural economist Jean-Marie Séronie explained, "While fruit prices rising by an average of 10% this summer was due to severe drought, the factors exerting the greatest influence on agricultural price increases are typically labor costs and extreme weather."

Driven by shifting international conditions, the price of butter—a staple on French dining tables—has also surged significantly. Most butter consumed in France is produced domestically. As the global economy recovered following COVID-19, butter export prices rose, but major French retailers refused to renegotiate supplier prices.

Consequently, dairy processors opted for exports rather than supplying domestic supermarket shelves, leading to supply instability and higher prices. Heatwaves, livestock diseases, and a shrinking number of dairy farms also contributed to the surge in butter prices.

		0
Limoges City Hall in France is engulfed in flames amid protests against high living costs on the 17th (local time). / AFP, Yonhap

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 also had a major impact on price hikes in France. As disruptions occurred in the supply of Russian natural gas, energy costs essential for food processing, transport, and refrigeration rose, ultimately driving up food prices.

Mathieu Plane, an economist and deputy director of the Analysis and Forecasting Department at the French Economic Observatory (OFCE), explained, "Even if prices rise, if household income rises faster than that, price increases are not a big problem from the perspective of households."

However, behind the anger over price hikes growing into massive protests is also the fact that wages have failed to keep pace with inflation. Compared to 2016, food prices have risen by about 35 percentage points, but the basic monthly wage index was confirmed to have risen by a lower 24 percentage points. And this gap has been widening further since 2023.

Plane explained, "If amusement park admission or dining out costs rise, people can simply choose not to go, but when essential energy or fuel costs rise, citizens have no choice."

According to a survey published by the statistics bureau in March, consumers have actually changed their spending habits in response to weakening purchasing power. To cope with rising prices, consumers were shown to be reducing overall consumption, giving up purchases of the most expensive items, and buying lower-tier products.

Plane offered a hopeful message, noting, "While bringing down the inflation curve is impossible because everything from pensions and guaranteed minimum income to the minimum wage is tied to inflation, there is room for the wage curve to rise."

                                                                                                               Lim Yu-jung