"I skip soap and toothpaste": these French face the inflation of hygienic products

Noa Moussa 09:49, March 23, 2023

Faced with inflation, more and more French people are ignoring hygiene products. There is an average increase of +13% over one year. According to an Ifop survey published on 21 March, a third of French people even deprive themselves of certain products such as soap, shampoo, toilet paper and toothpaste.

>> READ ALSO - Precariousness: a third of French people deprive themselves of hygiene products, according to a survey

This is the case of Myriam. At the end of the month, she has only 200 euros left to feed her five children. This mother met by Europe 1 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, must therefore make choices. "I have to skip certain products like soap and toothpaste. There are toothpastes that cost more than 3 euros. I am forced to go to associations so that they can sell me a little cheaper or give me some."

These French people who wash without soap

Like her, 3.5 million no longer buy toothpaste, for lack of means. This hygienic precariousness impacts more and more French people, according to Dons Solidaires. "The French are twice as likely as in 2021 to control the consumption of toilet paper, that is to say 13% of them against 6% in 2021," says Dominique Besançon, general delegate of the association which mobilizes against material and hygienic precariousness.

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She adds: "Some also space out washes to reduce the use of shampoos. Some say they wash their bodies without soap. This concerns 8% of French people surveyed, compared to 4% in 2021." And for the first time, this phenomenon affects young people as well as retirees or precarious workers.

On 15th March the National Assembly adopted a bill banning discounts of more than 34% from March 2024. A ceiling that will weigh a little more on the budget at a time when a third of French people deprive themselves of certain hygiene products.