The boss of Bercy repeated that he wanted this measure to be “appliedon March 15.
Faced with the sharp rise in food prices (+14.5% over one year in February according to INSEE), Bruno Le Maire wants the support system, currently in discussions with distributors and manufacturers, “affects all our compatriots, all French people“. Thus, despite the desire displayed by the government to put an end to the “whatever it takes” decreed since the Covid-19 pandemic, “I am not in favor of an overly targeted device“said the Minister of Economy and Finance during a trip to the Agricultural Show on Thursday. “Everyone is affected by food inflation», Including the middle classes, he justified himself.
Will this device take the form of an “anti-inflation basket”, an idea launched in January by the Minister for Trade Olivia Grégoire? “I am not attached to a particular baptismal name“Simply replied Bruno Le Maire, specifying that it will be a question of finding a solution for”guarantee, on a certain number of products, the lowest possible prices».
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“No ‘Red March'”
«It is not about having the lowest possible prices on all products without exception“, more “to offer a way out to all consumers who are struggling to make ends meet, by telling them that on a certain number of products, they will find the lowest possible prices“, said the tenant of Bercy. 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.
The government’s number two repeated that he wanted this device to be “appliquéwithin a fortnight. “I would like this agreement to be applied on March 15. I’m not saying that we find an agreement on March 15, but that it is in force for March 15“, he wanted to emphasize.
Steadily rising since 2022, food prices are set to rise further in the coming months, following annual trade talks between supermarkets and their suppliers, which concluded on Wednesday evening. Both distributors and manufacturers mention the figure of an additional 10% increase on the shelves. “There will be no “red march”, I refute this expression which frightens the French, and which is convenient for concealing increases which may not take place“, Hammered Bruno Le Maire.