French Lille Cultural Festival

The French city of Lille held a "Utopia"-themed cultural festival, and people watched an open-air performance in Place Charles de Gaulle. This year's Lille Cultural Festival will last from May 14 to October 2. It plans to hold 145 exhibitions, concerts, lectures and other themed events, and is expected to attract more than 300,000 visitors. According to data from the French National Statistics Office, the consumer price index (CPI) in April 2022 will increase by 5.4% year-on-year, a record high. Soaring inflation and the situation in Russia and Ukraine led to a decline in the French consumer confidence index. The first-quarter GDP growth rate was 0%, which was lower than market expectations, of which household spending fell by 1.3%. 

Photographer: Sylvain Lefevre