By Shweta Desai
PARIS (AA) – French Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie promised on Sunday that if President Emmanuel Macron is re-elected, his government will immediately launch a "food voucher program" for 8 million French citizens to fight food insecurity.
"Nearly 8 million of our fellow citizens have difficulty having access to local and quality French produce. Therefore, we must give them a boost to help them acquire this," he said in an interview with France 3 television.
Technical details and the amount of the voucher are still being worked out, he said, assuring the measure will be immediately taken after the election.
The "food voucher" measure was first announced by Macron in December 2020 at the citizens' climate convention to enable underprivileged families to access healthier and local produce as well as help local food producers.
An estimated 21% of French people cannot afford healthy food, and at least 27% cannot afford to buy fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, according to Ouest France news daily's 2020 report, citing data from NGO Secours Populaire.
In the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war that has caused severe food inflation in France, Macron revived the idea, promising to support low- and middle-income households in combating the food crisis.
Denormandie, a founding member of Macron's Republic on the Move party, is campaigning for his re-election. The second round of voting is scheduled for April 24.
He rebuffed rival National Front candidate Marine Le Pen's proposal to introduce zero VAT on 100 food items, saying it is impossible to limit price increases.