This is one of the dramatic effects of galloping inflation, especially in food.
Among the most precarious French people, more than four in ten (42%) say they have been forced to cut out one meal a day, according to an Ifop poll for "La Tablée des chefs" relayed by Le
Parisien
this
weekend
.
Based on the responses of a sample of 1,007 French people earning the minimum wage or less, this study highlights the consequences, on the plate of the French, of the significant rise in prices (+5.6% in March over one year, according to INSEE).
If it slowed down last month, it accelerated again in food (+15.8% after +14.8% in February).
Without going so far as to skip meals, more than one in two modest French people (53%) say they have reduced the portions consumed during meals.
Deprivation behaviors that concern all categories of the most precarious households, reports
Le Parisien
: students, retirees, families, singles...
Read alsoRed alert on food inflation in France
Fewer fruits and vegetables
The consumption habits of the French have also been upset by inflation, notes the survey, echoing multiple studies released in recent months.
For example in terms of purchasing fruit and vegetables, of which 52% of those polled confide that they afford less than before the inflationary period.
With a potential health risk: two out of three respondents are afraid that these changes in eating habits will have a negative impact on their long-term health.
Other polls have shown a similar development with regard to meat consumption.
The most recent, produced by Harris Interactive for the Climate Action Network and published last week, shows that 57% of French people say they consume less meat than three years ago.
The economic argument has clearly taken precedence over the other justifications: in March 2023, 58% of those polled said they had reduced their consumption "
to save money, because it is an expensive food
", i.e. an increase 25 points in two years.
