A few days before the gradual lifting of confinement, will the French all be able to equip themselves with masks, mandatory in transport, all without spending too much? While the government has decided to cap the sale price of surgical masks at 95 cents per unit, this choice was not made for fabric masks. Invited on Monday from Europe 1, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy Agnès Pannier-Runacher justified this decision, but assured that the executive remained vigilant. "If that is not enough, we will take capping measures," she warns.
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"For the moment, we have not made the choice to regulate the prices of fabric masks", confirms Agnès Pannier-Runacher at the microphone of Sonia Mabrouk, in particular because of the variety of models. "These masks are much more heterogeneous than surgical masks. Some are made abroad, others in France. Some are handcrafted, others are industrial. There is a great diversity of materials, which can influence on the cost of the mask, etc. ".
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"Having the maximum number of masks accessible to French people on low budgets"
The government's objective, still assures the Secretary of State, is "to have the maximum number of masks accessible to French people on low budgets at competitive costs, beyond the masks that we will give to the most precarious". For the latter, the executive plans to supply five million masks per week.
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"Via mass distribution and other channels, we are committed to having millions of masks available at a cost of use of 20 to 30 cents", says Agnès Pannier-Runacher. "And we will launch price surveys with the DGCCRF (Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention), with a publication, in order to help consumers find their way".
And to conclude: "If this is not enough, we will take capping measures. But at this stage, it seems to us too early for a product which has only existed for a month and which is very diverse in its design, its manufacture, and in the models offered on the market. "