Baker Eddy Mariel, 50, owner of a small family bakery in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, came to work early at 3am to have time to prepare his bread and croissants at the time when electricity prices are cheapest. Like the 33,000 or so bakers in France, Mariel is suffering from skyrocketing prices for ingredients (butter, flour and eggs) and energy, which rose sharply after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
The French baguette became Unesco’s intangible heritage in November, but the joy at the news was shortlived among the country’s bakers. Some have had to suspend their activities in recent weeks. The crisis reached such proportions that many of these professionals decided to take to the streets on Monday (23rd) to protest rising prices.
Recently, the French government announced some support for the sector it proposed delaying the payment of taxes and social security contributions by bakeries and a maximum tariff agreed with electricity suppliers, which in this case only applies to small bakeries with up to 10 employees and less income over 2 million euros annually.
Mariel’s bakery fits this profile and will be able to benefit from this maximum rate of up to 280 euros per kWh in 2023. With the reduction, he expects a saving of 800 euros per year. Despite this, your energy bill will be €4,200 in 2023, triple what you were paying annually up until October last year. When combined with raw materials and energy, the costs increased by 65%, he says.
“All of our available cash went up in smoke. We don’t have anything left just in case,” he says. His mother and sister also work in the bakery founded in 1979 by his late father. Mariel starts work at dawn and spends the whole day on the construction site and also helps with the sale, which is not going so well. The difficulties, he says, started as early as the Covid19 pandemic.
To mitigate the impact of her increased costs, Mariel had to raise prices typically ten cents per euro. The “traditional” baguette made from special flour rose by almost 10% to 1.30 euros. Despite the government’s help, he sees his business threatened. “We are not calm.”
“Butter and milk prices have doubled. Eggs tripled. Our profession is under threat,” says Ayeb
Image: Daniela Fernandes/UOL
survivor
Brahim Ayeb, owner of a small bakery that bears his surname on busy Rue de Faubourg SaintDenis in Paris’ 10th arrondissement, is also having fewer customers. “People only buy what they need,” he emphasizes. He also had to raise the prices: the croissant rose by 10 cents and sweets by 20 to 30 cents. “We couldn’t help it. Butter and milk prices have doubled. Egg prices have tripled. Our profession is under threat.”
The electricity contract negotiated by Ayeb in early 2021 is valid until the end of 2023. “It remains to be seen how high the tariff will be if the contract is extended. That’s worrying,” he says.
Organized by the collective for the survival of the bakery and craft trades, the demonstration of bakers aims to extend the maximum electricity tariff guaranteed by the government to all companies in the sector, regardless of their size.
“Despite state aid to help pay off energy bills and other announced benefits, this will not prevent our bills from doubling, tripling or even quintupling. Some businesses have already closed and we cannot accept this,” baker Frédéric Roy, baker, told the French press. from the City of Nice, which founded the association organizing the march.
Mariel says her costs have increased by 65% as commodity and energy prices have risen.
Image: Daniela Fernandes/UOL
However, the profession is divided. The President of the National Confederation of French Bakeries, Dominique Anract, will not take part in the demonstration and does not consider the protest necessary. He believes the sector has been heard by the state for now.
Some have more resources to deal with rising prices. This is the case of the renowned French baker Éric Kayser, with 300 points of sale, including some abroad. It uses artificial intelligence to perform calculations to optimize energy consumption. “We stop the oven when the cooking is done and then turn it on again. It’s like a car that we only start when we use it,” he says tab.
“We’re also more careful with flour to avoid waste and we calculate production better to avoid leftover bread,” he adds. Their energy contracts were also initially signed before the tariff explosion. “We’ll see what happens when we renegotiate them.”
The prices of its products increased by just over 10%. The “traditional” baguette went from 1.15 to 1.30 euros and the croissant from 1.20 to 1.35 euros. He also hopes the sector will receive help. “The government must not let bakeries go bankrupt.”
In France, the profession of baker is considered symbolic. In many villages, a bakery closure means a significant loss for the villagers. For many it is like a public service, like a post office or a train station, that ceases to exist locally. In the current bakery crisis, if you don’t have bread, let alone brioche.