The food bill will rise for French consumers with an average of 10% in the spring. The Minister of the Economy Bruno le Maire said on Thursday March 2 that he was in favor of a support system for “ all our compatriots “.
Annual price negotiations between the food industry and supermarkets were particularly tense this year. Manufacturers are asking supermarkets for more, citing better remuneration for farmers. Distributors say they are forced to pass on these increases to the end consumer.
Consequence: the price of the French caddy will increase by 10%, in addition to 14.5% year-on-year food inflation for February. ” There shall not be and there shall be no “Red March”, reacted this Thursday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, visiting the Agricultural Show. I refute this expression. It is an expression that frightens the French. I hope that in the next few days we will have a collective agreement on a certain number of products, at the lowest possible prices and I hope that this agreement will be applied on March 15. »
► Read also : The number of people benefiting from food aid has tripled in France
A ” device “help” which affects all our compatriots »
Faced with these increases, and despite the government’s stated desire to put an end to its strategy of ” no matter what decreed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government speaks of an aid system. ” I am not in favor of an overly targeted device “, specified Bruno the Mayor. ” I am in favor of a system that affects all our compatriots, all the middle classes, all French people “, continued the minister.
To limit the cost of this still vague device, the Minister calls on distributors and large manufacturers to ” do their part “. ” Not everything can be paid for by the state “, he insisted. ” Distributors are ready to make additional gestures, manufacturers also understand the difficulty of the situation. I am convinced that we will be able to find this collective agreement in the coming days, which will make it possible to share the burden of inflation “, concluded Bruno Le Maire.
President Emmanuel Macron had already urged distributors on Saturday to ” participate in the effort “. A call for the moment not really heard. Wheat down 23%, oil, butter, aluminum, packaging are also down. This makes supermarkets wonder about these increases sometimes ” unjustified “, according to them.
► Read also : Inflation in Europe at levels not seen since the creation of the euro zone