Arthur de Laborde, edited by Laura Laplaud
If the appointment has been planned for a long time, it is timely. Bakers are received this Thursday by Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée for the traditional galette des rois. Faced with rising energy and raw material prices, the profession intends to make its demands heard. The Head of State will do everything to show that he supports bakers.
The 33,000 bakers in France, hit hard by the rise in energy and raw material prices, are worried about their future. Bakers, who accuse the state of not supporting them enough, will have the opportunity to express their concerns to Emmanuel Macron this Thursday since they will be received at the Élysée for the traditional galette des rois. The Head of State will do everything to show that he will not let go of this profession.
A file followed by loan by Emmanuel Macron
The file has been on loan at the Élysée for several weeks. In the entourage of the president, we are particularly worried about the movement of anger of this emblematic profession of French gastronomy. “When the bakers talk about their difficulties to the 12 million French people who go to buy their bread every day, the latter do not understand that we are not helping them”, recognizes an adviser to the executive.
In this context, the traditional galette des rois at the Élysée will turn into a delicate political exercise at the end of the morning this Thursday. Faced with representatives of bakers, Emmanuel Macron will try to reassure an entire sector and prove that everything is done to save it. The government has already made several announcements this week: dedicated interlocutor in each department, postponement of payment of social and tax charges or even termination and renegotiation of electricity contracts free of charge in the event of a “prohibitive” price increase. Ads that do not convince all members of the profession who call for mobilization on January 23 in Paris.
The “whatever the cost” excluded
After the bakers, the Minister of the Economy will receive him this Thursday evening at 5 p.m., the representatives of the restaurateurs who are also claiming aid to pay their energy bills. But Bruno Le Maire has already ruled out reopening a “whatever the cost for all professions in France and Navarre”.