French consumer confidence fell to its lowest in more than two decades in February as accelerating inflation made households less inclined to make big purchases.
There was little hope that inflation would soon subside from 11-year peaks since producer prices, a gauge of pipeline cost pressures, rose at their fastest annual pace in more than seven years in January as foodstuffs and energy became more expensive.
Coming little more than a week before the first round of municipal elections, today's data highlighted the headache facing President Nicolas Sarkozy.
His promises to boost voters' purchasing power helped him win office in 2007, but households have growth impatient for results, and opinion polls show Mr Sarkozy's popularity has since slumped.
Consumer confidence fell to minus 35, its lowest since the series began in 1987, from January's minus 34, statistics office INSEE said.
Households' gloom about the health of the economy may have been compounded by the rise in the euro, which hit record highs above $1.51 this week, since difficulties such gains pose for French exports.
Producer prices rose 0.5 per cent in January compared with the previous month and were up 4.9 per cent from a year earlier, with sharp rises in the price of agricultural and energy products driving the increase, INSEE said.