Bruno Le Maire buries the food check promised by Emmanuel Macron during the presidential election

It was a promise from Emmanuel Macron to deal with inflation. The food voucher was intended to allow low-income households to purchase fresh, local products. This targeted consumer support system will ultimately not see the light of day. Questioned on Sunday January 7 on France 3 by Francis Letellier in “Dimanche en politique”, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, ended up recognizing that this avenue had been abandoned by the government.

Bruno Le Maire considered that food checks were not “the right way to go”. “Let’s forget check policies, we can’t afford them today”, he decided, favoring aid to associations and food banks. Faced with the complexity of the system, the government had until now opted for alternative measures such as the “inflation check” or a fund of 60 million euros for food aid actors.

The Minister of the Economy, on the other hand, said he was confident about the decline in certain food prices in 2024. “I’m sure some prices will go down“, he declared. According to him, these reductions will be seen “as soon as trade negotiations have concluded”January 31.

“Last year, when there was a commercial negotiation, there was a 15% price increase. Today, we are more around 5%. It’s still too much”estimated the minister on the set of “Dimanche en politique”. “My responsibility is to ensure that prices fall on as many products as possible (…) You will have price reductions on butter, on oils, on certain products such as poultry, on certain meats , not just stabilization”, he assured. Bruno Le Maire, however, recognized that a return to pre-crisis prices “will not happen[it] not”.