The French are famous for their culinary expertise, but more people are consuming sweet foods and drinks. The government is concerned about France’s transformation from a country of cheese connoisseurs to a country that loves the taste of cheese, and from a country of lovers of artisanal draft beer to a country of consumers. Sweet bottled beer.
The best example of this trend toward processed foods is the case of McDonald’s. In 1979, the fast food giant opened its first restaurant in Strasbourg and then strategically expanded into every major city, and later into every shopping center, railway and highway service station to reach as many consumers as possible. France is now the most important market after the United States. 1,707 branches Nationwide.
Le Monde cites the pressures of the past few years as another reason for growth. French people want to eat more for pleasure to counter the anxiety they have felt over the past few years due to COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, political instability and food inflation. The nation wants snacks that make them feel good, and manufacturers are producing more and more fast food snacks that are increasingly high in calories.
Last year’s biggest winners were Heineken’s Desperados Tropical beer (rum and passionfruit flavors), Kinder chocolate ice cream and Kinder Tronky wafers, according to NielsenIQ.
Similarly, over the past year Krispy Kreme It opened 20 stores across Paris and generated $15 million, marketing its donuts as a new croissant and tying into key cultural outlets to sell Barbie, Harry Potter and Halloween versions.
One policy idea to combat obesity and the need to raise revenue for severely impoverished economies is to tax these sugar-laden, highly processed products.
Nutritional taxes are gaining favor.
Currently, WHO recommends that each country impose a nutritional tax to respond to the increase in chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, and many organizations, including the World Bank, are making the same argument.
that Montaigne InstituteCEOs of progressive think tanks Coopérative U, Babybel, Laughing Cow (BEL), and Sodexo recently defend Increase VAT on very sweet products to 20% from the current 5.5% or 10%.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the government could impose a tax on products that do not meet sugar levels agreed by government departments to help the one in five obese adults in France. They are particularly thinking of confectionery, chocolate, biscuits, breakfast cereals, spreads and industrial pastries.
The institute suggests that the funds raised through these measures (€1.2 billion, or €560 million per year) could provide food vouchers worth €30 per month to 4 million of France’s poorest people.
These claims are now gaining more attention in France, especially for soft drinks. In 2012, the government imposed a tax on sugary drinks, and in 2018 it claimed the drinks were too easy to drink and could be addictive.
Every year the French people 21 liters This tax will increase by approximately €443M in 2023. Now that the French Senate has voted to make carbonated and sweet drinks much more expensive, this amount could easily be double In 2025.
Tax of 4 to 35 cents per liter
The new soda tax work It is applied differently depending on the amount of added sugar contained in the drink.
If there is less than 5 grams of added sugar per 100 grams, manufacturers will have to pay 4 cents per liter bottle (up from 3.79 cents currently). Lipton’s Peach Ice Tea, for example, has 3g of added sugar per 100g and costs around €1.20 per bottle.
The second tranche is more. many. Let’s say your drink contains 5 to 8 grams of added sugar per 100 grams. The tax would then triple from the current 7.3 cents per liter to 21 cents. This includes Schweppes Tonic (5.8g added sugar per 100g) and Oasis (6.6g per 100g). Both Coca-Cola-owned companies now have to pay a tax of 21 cents per liter, which costs $1.20 and 1.40 euros respectively.
In the third and largest tranche, the tax on soft drinks with more than 8 grams of added sugar per 100 grams will rise to a whopping 35 cents (up from 17.7 cents). This high tax level applies to one liter of regular Coca-Cola. Regular Coca-Cola contains 10.6g of added sugar and costs around €1.30 per liter in supermarkets. This also applies to kids’ favorite Capri Sun (8g added sugar).
It’s difficult to say whether big companies will charge consumers more for their soft drinks or try to reduce their sugar content.
Reduced traction on food
Forty countries have introduced nutritional taxes, mainly on sugary drinks, because it’s a simpler win. The public is generally believe It makes more sense to tax sugary drinks because they have little nutritional value and can be easily replaced by cheaper, more nutritious, non-sweetened alternatives. The same argument could easily be made about highly processed foods.
Several French lawmakers are calling for a new tax on foods whose sugar content is far above recommended limits, putting their nutritional value at risk to children’s health. However, the Ministry of Health has been in direct conflict with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The latter feared that the new sugar tax would have a negative impact on businesses that need to remain economically competitive and preserve jobs.
It may feel soft at first. way out. Governments could work with manufacturers on sugar targets, changes to ingredients and the use of healthier recipes, which could eventually trigger taxation measures, but only if these targets are not met.
