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French food inflation soars to 16 percent as price caps start

Wednesday, 19 April 2023 3:16 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 19 April 2023 3:17 AM ]

Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Paris

At a rate of 6 percent, inflation in France is still at its worst since the 1980s. However, new data shows that all-important food prices continue to push to unseen levels, having leapt a whopping 16 percent since last year.

From April through June there will be price caps on certain goods, following last month’s acceptance by major retailers and middlemen of a government initiative. It’s expected to cost them hundreds of millions of euros.

However, many say they can afford it: Ever-increasing corporate profits have been the norm across Europe since 2009, and in the post-Covid world many analysts say that corporate price-gouging, government-approved speculation and stockholder profit-hoarding are the hidden driver of Europe’s high prices.

Polls show that 96 percent of France agrees with the statement that some suppliers are opportunistically taking advantage of inflation.

Opportunism aside, soaring prices have been the enduring result of the West’s failed sanctions campaign against Russia over the long-running unrest in Ukraine. Instead of sowing peace and reaping low prices, the European Union continues to find that belligerence backfires, and especially for the average person.

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