Meat, health… Faced with the war in the Middle East, the French are even reducing vital expenses

42% of French people have reduced their food and health spending, TF1 reported Thursday May 7, according to an Ifop survey. The war in the Middle East has consequences even in essential expenditure items.

Eat less meat, reduce your purchases to do your laundry… The consequences of the war in the Middle East affect even the vital expenses of the French, according to TF1 Info. 60% of French people say they experience daily financial difficulties, relays the television channel.

Among the items where spending is falling the most: fuel, followed by clothing purchases, leisure activities and vacation plans. Food and health expenses conclude the list. According to an Ifop survey, cited by TF1, 42% of French people restrict their spending in the food and health sectors.

“We’re going to be more careful about eating less meat or eating a lot more chicken, or things that are more accessible to consumers,” a woman told TF1 Info. “When you have children, it’s food that’s important. They shouldn’t be lacking. But as a result, alongside that, we buy fewer clothes, we buy fewer perfumes,” says a mother.

“The phenomenon is underway”

“The phenomenon is always the same. When there is a crisis of this type, we even focus on the heart of the meal. Another example, we will only buy the detergent and not the fabric softener,” notes Dominique Schelcher, president of Cooperative U, with the television channel.

And to alert: “It’s gone, the phenomenon is underway”. Nine out of ten French people are in fact worried about their purchasing power in the face of the war in the Middle East and inflation, quotes TF1 Info.