This baker lets his customers decide the price of their baguette to counter inflation

In many respects it is the standard measure of inflation. The baguette has become more expensive over the years. Its price has gone from less than 1 franc in the last century to more than 1 euro today. To respond to the inflationary crisis of recent months, which has increased the price of the traditional baguette by a few dozen cents, a baker from the north of France has decided to offer his baguette “at a free price”. The customer decides the cost of his bread himself, starting from a minimum price of 60 cents – far below market practices.

The “anti-inflation” operation is organized throughout the month of November in the three Mamatte bakeries in the Somme and the North. “The baguette is a basic necessity product. The period is complicated for everyone, we see it in the level of sales of so-called pleasure products. I wanted to participate to help those who are most in need,” indicates the founder of the brand, Maxime Lefebvre, interviewed by our colleagues from Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France.

Of the 1,500 baguettes sold each day in these establishments, 20 to 25% go for 60 cents, 10 to 15% for 80 or 90 cents and the vast majority for 1 euro, the usual price. “Some (customers) pay 1.50 euros for it, saying that they want it to benefit people in difficulty and that the operation can last more than a month,” specifies the business manager.

It is not certain that the operation will last forever. Its cost, on which Maxime Lefebvre hardly dwells, must be substantial. The fact remains that its initiative is widely welcomed by customers. At the start of the year, several hundred bakers demonstrated in Paris to express their concern in a context of soaring energy and raw material prices.