If you previously used a social network to login to WRAL.com, click the “Forgot your password” link to reset your password.
Chatham leaders, schools, residents ready for the population boom that new companies will bring
From Triangle to Triad: Expected Wolfspeed chip plant adds to new 'economic corridor' in NC
Wolfspeed announces $5 billion investment in Chatham County, largest in NC history
Heavy periods of rain could mar weekend outdoor plans
Tracking the tropics: Hurricane Earl could send rip currents to NC this weekend
California avoids outages after day of grid-straining heat
WRAL 5 on Your Side helps Raleigh man save nearly $3K on energy bill, claims he spent 18 hours trying to sort out bill
WRAL 5 On Your Side saves thousands of dollars for Duke Energy customer
On the Record: One-on-one with candidates for the Wake County sheriff's race
MLB set to announce pitch clocks, shift limits for 2023
BYU says 'no evidence' of racial slurs; Duke stands by player who says she experienced targeted racism
Giglio: Close call should be a wakeup call for the Wolfpack
IRS to refund late-filing penalties for 2019 and 2020 returns
Gov. Roy Cooper, Wolfspeed executives talk new Chatham County plant
Chatham County semiconductor plant would be largest economic investment in NC history
SERGE SCHMEMANN: A woman who embodied the myth of the good monarch
Editorial: Legislators must heed Sec. Kinsley's plea. Expand Medicaid now!
Editorial: If a tax break is good for N.C. corporations, don't treat student loans differently
Restaurant Ratings: Bowl of Pho, Waffle House and Brixx Wood Fired Pizza
IRS to refund late-filing penalties for 2019 and 2020 returns
WRAL 5 on Your Side helps Raleigh man save nearly $3K on energy bill, claims he spent 18 hours trying to sort out bill
People with HIV make up more than half monkeypox cases in NC
Family says bullying contributed to Wendell eighth grader's death by suicide. Here are warning signs to look for.
Get Help: County-by-county guide to mental health and crisis resources in NC
Music, beer, mural celebrate Dix Park at Hopscotch day party
Foodie news: M Sushi opens Cary location
Luke Combs announces Bank of America Stadium show, world tour
Published: 2022-08-22 10:18:53 Updated: 2022-08-22 10:18:53
Posted August 22, 2022 10:18 a.m. EDT
By Anna Cooban, CNN Business
CNN — French supermarkets and gas stations have an answer to soaring inflation — freezing some prices for the next few months.
On Monday, French retail giant Carrefour announced that it would keep prices for more than 100 essential products unchanged for the next 100 days. The list of items includes breakfast cereal, coffee, tinned vegetables, detergent and diapers.
The retailer, which has more than 1,400 stores across France, said the freeze was part of its "anti-inflation challenge," but added that prices could, in theory, rise again if tariffs on certain products increased.
"At a time when everything is increasing, Carrefour is stepping up its efforts to enable [customers] to preserve [their] daily life as much as possible," Carrefour said on its website.
Consumer price inflation in France rose to 6.8% in the year to July, according to the government's statistic office.
Carrefour's announcement comes after E.Leclerc, another French supermarket chain, said last month that it would cap the prices on more than 230 of its essential products until early December, extending a price freeze it first introduced for 120 items in May.
In recent weeks, energy giant TotalEnergies has also moved to shield motorists from painful price increases at the pump.
Last month, the company said it would reduce gas prices for customers across all of its French gas stations by €0.20 ($0.20) per liter compared to global market prices until the start of November, and by €0.10 ($0.10) per liter from November to the end of the year. That's in addition to a government-funded discount on the retail price of fuel.
In April, the French government reduced the cost of gasoline and diesel by up to €0.18 ($0.18) a liter until the end of August. The subsidy rises to €0.30 ($0.30) a liter in September and October, before falling to €0.10 ($0.10) a liter for the rest of the year. It is paid to fuel producers who pass on the discount to consumers at gas stations.
"We prefer to make an immediate and direct contribution for our customers, rather than an indirect tax that would penalize our refineries," CEO Patrick Pouyanné said in a press release.
Opposition parties have called for a tax on the bumper profits of energy companies, though the government has so far resisted the calls, according to a report by French newspaper Le Monde.
TotalEnergies reported $10.6 billion in profit during the first half of 2022, up 92% from the same period last year, as global energy prices sky-rocketed.
Prices have soared across Europe this year as countries unwound their pandemic restrictions and demand for goods soared. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February pushed prices up further, sparking an energy crisis on the continent.
In July, the European Central Bank hiked interest rates for the first time in 11 years to help tame spiraling prices in countries that use the euro, including France. The rate of inflation across the eurozone hit a record high of 8.9% in July.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2022 by Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
©2022 Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc.