Faced with the sharp rise in food prices, more than 14% over one year in February, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire said Thursday, March 2, in favor of a support system “which affects all our compatriots “. “Everyone is affected by food inflation,” insisted the minister during a trip to the Paris Agricultural Show.
Consequently, and despite the will displayed by the government to put an end to the onerous “whatever the cost” decreed since the Covid-19 pandemic, “I am not in favor of an overly targeted device”, has he added.
“I am in favor of a device that affects all our compatriots, all the middle classes, all French people,” continued Bruno Le Maire, who wants it to come into force by March 15. To limit the cost of this still vague device, the minister calls on distributors and large manufacturers to “do their part of the way”. “Not everything can be paid for by the state,” he insisted.
“The distributors are ready to make additional gestures, the 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 allow us to share the burden of inflation,” concluded Bruno Le Maire.
While the idea of ??an “anti-inflation basket”, launched by the Minister Delegate for Trade, Olivia Grégoire, has been discussed for several weeks to guarantee low prices on a selection of consumer products, the Minister assured not not be “attached to a particular baptismal name”.
“It’s not about having the lowest possible prices on all products without exception”, but “to offer a way out for all consumers who are struggling to make ends meet, by telling them that , on a number of products, they will find the lowest possible prices,” said Bruno Le Maire.
Rising steadily since 2022, food prices are expected to rise further in the coming months, following annual trade talks between supermarkets and their suppliers, which concluded on Wednesday evening.
