The French consumer prices index for May showed a rise of 0.1 pct compared with a 0.2 pct increase in April, according to figures from the Insee statistics office. Year-on-year CPI was up 1.5 pct against a 1.8 pct rise in April. Economists polled by AFX News expected a 0.2 pct rise month-on-month and said CPI was seen up 1.6 pct over the year. Underlying 'core' inflation, which excludes products with either regulated or highly volatile prices, was up 0.1 pct in May after being unchanged in April. The harmonised index of consumer prices calculated to allow comparison with other EU members was unchanged month-on-month and rose 1.7 pct over the year.