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🇫🇷 France /Culture & Society

Paris to offer free school meals for low-income families

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Paris will offer free school meals to over 17,000 children from modest families starting in September.
  • The measure targets the two lowest income brackets, who currently pay minimal fees for meals.
  • The city aims to ensure all children receive at least one substantial meal daily, freezing prices for other income brackets.

Starting this September, Paris will provide free school meals to more than 17,000 children from low-income families attending public schools and colleges. This initiative, announced by Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, specifically benefits families in the two lowest income brackets of the "quotient familial" system, who currently pay only €0.13 and €0.85 for meals. Grégoire described this as fulfilling a campaign promise and a gesture of solidarity, noting that these small bills are difficult to collect and require significant logistics.

These are very small bills that are difficult to collect and require a lot of logistics, so we prefer to make this gesture of solidarity.

— Emmanuel GrégoireThe Paris Mayor explained the rationale behind offering free meals to the lowest income brackets.

The city will freeze the prices for the remaining six income brackets, which currently pay up to €7 per meal. Annually, over 2.5 million meals will be distributed free of charge, at an estimated total cost of €1.2 million. Grégoire emphasized the importance of nutrition, stating that the quality and quantity of food are critical for children from modest backgrounds, and that the school meal is often the "only somewhat substantial meal of the day."

He also highlighted a decline in canteen attendance at the college level, suggesting that the quality of meals plays a role. The cost of meals has risen for the city in recent years due to inflation in raw materials and investments in qualitative improvements, such as a shift towards organic ingredients. Grégoire mentioned that if the city had passed on the full cost of food inflation to families, meal prices would have increased by 40 to 50 million euros overall, a cost the city has absorbed in recent years.

The only somewhat substantial meal given in the day.

— Emmanuel GrégoireThe mayor emphasized the importance of school meals for children from modest backgrounds.

Approximately 100,000 children eat in Parisian canteens daily. The new policy aims to alleviate financial pressure on struggling families while ensuring children have access to nutritious food, addressing concerns about food quality and quantity for vulnerable populations.

The issue of children's nutrition is not negotiable.

— Emmanuel GrégoireGrégoire stressed the non-negotiable nature of providing adequate food for students.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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