Inflation forcing French to change eating habits – video

Inflation forcing French to change eating habits – video

Food inflation continued to surge in March, forcing more than half of the population to give up on certain food items, according to official data from the statistical office. The situation could have been tackled with due foresight, says popular right-wing politician but the government has failed to take action and continues to idle.

ECONOMY WORLD POLITICS APRIL 8. 2023 11:52

The pace of food inflation is not slowing down in France, data published by the INSEE statistical office show. Food prices increased by 15.8 per cent in March compared to the same period last year, with the price of fresh products climbing even higher to 16.6 per cent. In January this year customers had to pay 13.3 per cent more for food compared to the same period last year, with the price of fresh food rising by 10.2 per cent. In February, compared to the same month last year, food prices increased by 14.8 per cent, with fresh products costing 15 per cent higher.

It is noteworthy that the overall rate of inflation in France has dropped, with consumer price increases reaching 6 per cent in January, 6.3 per cent in February and then 5.6 per cent in March, but the uptrend in food prices persists.

Steadily increasing food inflation is forcing the population to change their eating habits, BFMTV pointed out, highlighting that more than half of the French (51 per cent) gave up salty and sweet snacks, the ubiquitous accompaniments to aperitifs, due to their soaring price.

Due to inflation, spending on non-essential pleasure goods has plummeted in France. They are in the fourth place on the list of food and drinks that the French no longer insist on, with alcoholic drinks and fresh fish at the top of the list. French households spent an average of 66 euros on chips and other snacks in 2020, according to BFMTV.

However, food inflation is causing not only a decline in the consumption of these goods, but also putting people with eating disorders to the test, the news portal 20 minutes reported.

Speaking to the portal, nutritionist Clement Vansteene highlighted that due to surging food prices, many people fear that shops will run out of food products, which may cause declining health for some patients. Thus inflation has an indirect harmful effect on people’s health. Anorexic patients, for instance, tend to use increasing food prices as an excuse for not eating, which can cause further deterioration in their condition and can pose an additional risk for some patients.

Commenting on the subject, Marine Le Pen, one of the most popular opposition politicians, recalled that she has been warning about the impeding food inflation for more than a year, stressing that the government should have taken a number of measures to protect the population but it has failed to do so and continues to idle.

The situation is out of control, according to the right-wing politician, and the government has no proposal to address the issue.

In a post on Twitter, Marine Le Pen pointed to the urgency of the situation and called on the government to take effective measures to protect the purchasing power of the French population by reducing the tax on electricity and above all, abolishing VAT on one hundred essential products.

ECONOMY WORLD POLITICS

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food, france, inflation, marine le pen, no more crisps