"My village is going to die": the cry of distress of a baker forced to close his business

FIGAROVOX.

- What has been your background and your history as an artisan baker?

When did you settle in your village of Bourgaltroff?

Julien BERNARD-REGNARD.

-

I have been in the bakery business for 17 years.

And it was going to be five years since I opened my own bakery, with two saleswomen, in my commune of Bourgaltroff.

It's a small country village of 400 inhabitants, everyone knows each other, it's very friendly.

My bakery was truly a gathering place.

And during the closing, the inhabitants gave me phenomenal support, I received messages, letters, donations all week long... That's what kept me going psychologically.

Today I feel like I have abandoned my clients.

The old people gathered to drink coffee, tell stories, it was their moment of light of the day.

Now they don't see anyone.

I had to

Why did you close?

What impact have rising electricity prices had on your business?

Like all my colleagues, the problems started this summer.

Raw materials have started to flare up, butter, sugar, yeast... All prices have doubled or even tripled.

Then at the beginning of December, I received my energy schedule, and there I fell from the top, my bill was multiplied by 3.5 if we compare it to 2021. So I contacted my supplier, who I managed to have after days.

He explained to me that the price of electricity was indexed to the price of gas, and that if that didn't suit us, we could change supplier.

I created my business from scratch, I put all my heart into it, it took a long time to find partners, to make customers, it's the investment of a lifetime, but today I I lost everything.

Julien Bernard Regnard

Resigned, we tried to save as much as we could;

I got up two hours earlier, I only kneaded during off-peak hours, I stopped baking in the afternoon, turned off the lights in the windows... It was a race for energy, but it didn't change anything.

So I made the decision to fire one of the company's sales associates.

I had to work 80 hours a week, if not more, to replace the saleswoman, but that wasn't enough.

On December 4, I closed my trade.

Did you feel supported by the state?

How did you experience this closure?

No, I have an anger, a rage that is not even expressible.

Bruno Le Maire and Olivia Grégoire published dozens of tweets to “support bakers”, and affirmed on BFM that they would not let any business die.

But the reality is different, there are at least a dozen bakeries that close every day.

The aids are subject to unimaginable conditions, I have touched absolutely nothing.

Bruno Le Maire offered to postpone our charges, but we don't want to see our bills spread out, we don't want them to accumulate.

He also promised exceptional aid that we have never seen.

The government refuses to tackle the real problems, namely the indexation of electricity prices to those of the European Union.

We don't want to

aid, temporary solutions, we would simply like the ministers to tackle the real problems, namely the indexation of electricity prices to those of the European Union.

But they never talk about it.

This forced closure has impacted me socially, psychologically, physically... The bakery was my whole life, it's a demanding job, we work on public holidays, weekends, but we never complain because it's a real passion.

Only, today we are prevented from working with dignity.

We don't want aid, just to be able to work like everyone else.

When you lose your business, you lose your life.

I had been growing for five years, my turnover kept increasing, and there, for reasons beyond my control, I had to close.

I will never accept this injustice.

Rural bakeries are the most affected, but those in large cities will also eventually give way.

Julien Bernard Regnard

As Olivia Grégoire said in the hemicycle, everyone must stay in their place, the bakers have nothing to do on the trays and in the newspapers.

Currently, neither the ministers nor the bakers are doing their job, except that the bakers are not by choice.

Do you experience this as an abandonment of rural France, villages that often only have one bakery?

Absolutely, in the countryside bakeries and pharmacies are essential.

These are often the only two businesses that still give life to rural centres.

And rural bakeries are the most affected, but those in large cities will also eventually give way.

The month of January is likely to be terrible because it marks the beginning of increases in the price of electricity at EDF.

How long will those with little cash be able to last?

I give one or two months to city bakeries, if the government does not take stock of the situation.

Minister Olivia Grégoire said she was with the bakers, but she didn't bother to call me.

Bruno Le Maire said on BFMTV that he would not let any business die.

But there are so many criteria to meet to obtain state aid that only a few rare traders will be able to receive them.

I am the perfect example: I was not entitled to any help.

My electricity bill was to exceed 3% of my turnover, but the government took into account the bills for the year 2021... However, in 2022, nearly 20% of my turnover went into my electricity bill.

And again, some of my colleagues have seen their electricity bills increase sevenfold.

Do you plan to reopen a business in France?

My passion has always been baking, but I lost the flame.

In France, I will never be an entrepreneur again because it is impossible to pay employees correctly.

To pay an employee €2,000, you have to pay almost three times as much, including charges and taxes.

The bread crisis is symbolic of the crisis in France.

Julien Bernard Regnard

However, before the crisis we are experiencing, my turnover was constantly increasing, my clientele was growing every year... the lights were green.

So, if tomorrow an opportunity abroad presents itself to me in the bakery, I will seize it, but I will no longer be self-employed in France.

Isn't it paradoxical that at the moment when the baguette has just been registered as an intangible heritage by Unesco, bakers are dying?

When the President of the Republic brandishes a baguette to promote the inclusion of this food in the intangible heritage of Unesco and, at the same time, does little for bakers, I see it as a form of provocation.

Let's realize that France has the best bread and the best bakers.

The baguette is the French product par excellence and every Frenchman must be able to buy it without looking at the price.

This is also the reason why I refused to increase it to two euros.

If there is not more support, the social consequences will be terrible: consumption of drugs, depression or even suicide... I do not wish any colleague to experience what I experienced when I was forced to close my trade.

Today, I went back to work in a factory because you have to pay the bills.

I am in debt I will have to repay all the debts of the company.

It is to prevent others from finding themselves in the same situation that I intend to demonstrate on January 21.

Moreover, if even we, the bakers, take to the streets, it is because there is a real problem in the whole country which goes far beyond our profession.

The bread crisis is symbolic of the crisis in France.