Martinique: cost of living, health… local executive calls for price freeze on basic necessities

This is one of Martinique’s main problems. The president of the executive council of the Territorial Community of Martinique (CTM) this Thursday asked the state to freeze the prices of basic necessities on the island, where the high cost of living is a serious social problem. Serge Letchimi, head of the local executive, sent a letter to the prefect of the Antilles asking him to “implement articles L. 410-2 of the commercial code to block the prices of basic products needed in Martinique.” “

According to the letter, this request concerns “food” and “health products and drugs.” Food, whose prices in Martinique were 40% higher in 2022 than in France, according to INSEE, represents one of the main items of expenditure for Martinique households. In October 2023, these island prices were up 7.6% year-on-year. According to INSEE statistics, prices for medical services, which account for 12% of household expenses in Martinique, are also 13% higher than in mainland France.

34,500 Martinican families with RSA

In his argument, the President of the Executive of Martinique highlighted the high levels of poverty and instability in Martinique, where 34,500 households benefit from the RSA. According to INSEE, about 27% of the population lives below the poverty line. That is, this figure is “twice higher than the national average,” recalls Serge Letchimi. The Martinique Chief Executive’s request will be discussed on December 21 at the plenary meeting of the Martinique Assembly. At the interrogation this Thursday evening, the Prefecture of Martinique had not yet formulated a response to the request of the leader of the territorial majority.

Last July, the government and distributors entered into a new agreement on the “quality-price” (BQP) system – a system to combat inflation in the overseas territories. This system guarantees reasonable prices for 134 products in supermarkets, which is approximately thirty products more than in 2022. In Martinique, inflation resumed in 2022, amounting to + 4% for the year, driven by petroleum products (17.8%) and food products (5.4%). %). However, this figure for the period under review remains lower than for France as a whole (+5.2%).