Energy suppliers are not doing enough to help traditional French bakeries face soaring electricity bills, Paris Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Le Maire, who will meet with representatives of energy companies later in the day to discuss the issue, warned that his government has “the tools to force energy suppliers to meet their obligations to the state and companies”.

At the same time, he did not specify which tools it would be about, and did not name the suppliers.

“The state will not let anyone down. The state will not let the bakers down,” assured Le Maire during a press conference, where he noted that the crisis came after the French baguette was included in the UNESCO cultural heritage last November.

French bakers proposed it in February 2021, warning that the baguette was disappearing from the shelves in favor of mass-produced frozen bread.

“The French state is doing its part to help bakers, energy suppliers must do their part,” Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.

The French government is preparing measures to help bakers

Le Maire also said the French state would write to 33,000 bakers to explain the details of the aid currently available to them and what they can expect in the future.

Earlier on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne confirmed reports that the government was preparing plans to help bakers cope with rising electricity bills, saying Paris authorities planned to allow them to defer paying taxes.

Bourne also said the French government is considering allowing bakers to pay their electricity bills for the first months of the year later.

Dominique Anract, president of the Confederation of French Bakers, told Reuters he was glad the bakers’ cry for help had been heard by the government and called on members of his association to apply for all the help available to them.

“We are now waiting for a gesture from the energy suppliers,” he said, adding that “if a baker is trapped in a miserable contract, he should be able to get out of it.”