“Until now, I was paying 1,600 euros a month for my electricity bill,” says Corinne Butard, owner of the “La espiga d’oro” bakery in the small town of Lizy-sur-Ourcq, east of Paris. But now she is scared. Your rate could go up to levels that are impossible to pay.
“I received an email from the power company announcing this they will multiply the rates by 10. With the kilowatt hour at 1.06 euros I go to 15 thousand euros a month”, he explained to Rfi.
French bakers have launched protests to warn of their plight and Emmanuel Macron’s government has had to respond.
The prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, announced on Tuesday that struggling bakers will be able to defer tax and social security payments, a move on top of government aid that has been extended to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). to moderate the escalation of energy prices, which exploded in Europe due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In a press conference, the heads of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, and of Commerce and SMEs, Olivia Grégoire, explained that they will write to the country’s 33,000 bakers this week to specify in detail the devices they are eligible for.
Le Maire, Grégoire and the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, received the heads of energy suppliers on Tuesday to draw their attention because the Executive believes that some are not respecting the commitments undertaken in the “letter” of good practices that they signed at the beginning of October.
The economy minister said at the end of the meeting that energy companies had agreed that bakers whose business is threatened could terminate their energy supply contract when there is a “prohibitive” price increase that “threatens survival”. of the company.
That “exceptional” measure. It will involve a “case by case” treatment with the possibility of renegotiation of the contractual clauses and with a state guarantee which will have to receive the approval of the European Commission.
With inflation hovering at around 6%, the liberal president, Emmanuel Macron, is coming under pressure from the main opposition party, the far-right National Gathering, which even sent a letter of support to the bakers.
The president of the sector’s employers’ association, Dominique Anract, highlighted the measures already applied by the government after a meeting at the Ministry of Economy, but qualified that they are insufficient given a “10 or 12” increase in the energy bill .
Testimonials
The most expensive for bakers is the use of electric ovens. “We have a five-story oven. Since we sell a ton of baguettes, all but one floor is lit. We try to save electricity by switching them off when there’s no demand,” Butard explains.
The French state has pledged 12 million euros in aid to businesses, including bakeries. This shock absorber is to offset 15% of your 2023 electric bill.
Like Corinne Butard, other bakers have also had the unpleasant surprise of a surge in the prices not only of electricity but also of raw materials such as cheese, flour, sugar and yeast.
“We are very worried and are constantly wondering when we will have to close. the pressure is too strongsays Sahad Zerzour, who runs a bakery in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
“We may also have to close, for reasons beyond our control, that have nothing to do with how we run our business or product quality. It’s simply a matter of balancing the cost of production and the selling price,” he adds.
The price of the baguette
According to economists, to achieve this balance, bakers should raise the price of the baguette to 4 euros. It is currently around 1 euro.
To keep her financial reserves afloat, Corinne Butard went months without withdrawing any money to her account. But she says it’s a time bomb.
“I have at most two months left. After Covid-19 and the price increase, we have little treasure left,” she says. He explains it to RFI will have to fire employees.
«After the December holidays, I only called half of the staff to work. Maybe by saving that salary I’ll be able to pay the bills for the first month », she explains.
“We will try to raise bread prices in February, but the consumer is not willing to pay that much and I think we will have to fire people forever,” Butard complains.
Sahad Zerzour can’t stand the thought of firing his workers. “Everyone is scared. What will happen in four or six months? Will we continue to do this job or will we have to learn a new job?” asks the baker.
For him and Corinne Butard, in any case, multiplying the price of a baguette by four is unimaginable.
Source: RFI and Agencies
B. C
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.