Defamed by statistics - the Euro at 5

Yesterday the Euro, as a currency you could put in your wallet, was 5 years old.  Happy Birthday the Euro!

Between Christmas and New Year, newspapers in England and France both merrily picked up on the story that the French were falling out of love with the Euro, as they believed it had caused substantial inflation.  Well on the evidence in my local paper (Le Courrier de l'ouest, 29/12/06), can you blame them? 

I'll explain - below are the figures used to "prove" the inflationary effects of the Euro - however as fair comparators, I disagree with a number of them.

Over the comparison period (January 2002 to October 2006), inflation in France stood at 9.1%.

• The price of a kilo of Sole increased by 31% (wasn't there something recently about the scarcity of fish?)
• The price of a litre of unleaded petrol went up by 24% (a small effect has to be expected from the international explosion in the price of crude oil, surely?)
• The price of a consultation with your GP went up by 20% (medical fees are set by law in France - hardly the fault of the Euro)
• The cost of calling in a plumber for an hour rose by 21% (in France, as in the UK, it is exceptionally difficult to find a plumber - that seems more like good old fashioned free market economics to me)
• The price of stamp went up by 17% (again due to Government regulation)
• The price of a woman's haircut rose by 8% (actually below the rate of inflation)
• While the price of a flat screen TV fell by 67% (the wonders of technological innovation)

Let's face it, for pretty well anything it would be difficult to put the blame for an above inflation increase in its price solely at the door of the Euro, but changing the currency was a highly visible step that affected everyone in France.  The Euro is an easy scapegoat for politicians and policy makers, and is another thing to attach Europe with.  What gets me is the blatant misuse of statistics to prove the case, when they can't.

What is transparent, following the introduction of the Euro, is how prices differ across Europe - such as a difference of about 20 cents a litre for diesel between France and Spain.  That is far more likely, particularly around the borders, to fuel resentment of the currency.