The French government will spend 100 billion euros on measures to combat high inflation between 2021 and 2023, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament.

“In October 2021, we made one of the most important decisions of the previous five-year mandate, setting a tariff shield on the prices of electricity and gas. The result: we have the lowest inflation rate in the euro area,” BFMTV quoted Le Maire as saying.

He stated that “the government will spend 100 billion euros to protect the French from a price hike in 2021-2023.” The “tariff shield” will be partly preserved in 2023 and, in general, will cost the budget, according to the head of the Ministry of Finance, 46 billion euros.

The Minister assured that the assistance provided in this way will not be financed by increasing taxes.

The growth of consumer prices in France in September slowed down to 6.2% in annual terms after rising by 6.6% a month earlier. In the eurozone, meanwhile, inflation accelerated to an all-time high of 10% last month from 9.1% in August.