Around thirty bakers have gathered in protest to throw crumbs at the residence of the Walloon Government, speaking out against the lack of adequate support measures for their sector to combat the current energy crisis.
Bakeries have become the unlikely face of the energy crisis as one of the businesses that have been worst affected by rising energy prices, due to their reliance on ovens.
At the end of September, a bakery in Vencimont, a municipality in Wallonia was forced to close shop after they saw their energy bills increase by 500%.
Pascale Dumont, the owner of the bakery, stated to the RTBF that the measures in the latest Walloon budget, which are intended to help out those facing the ensuing energy crisis, will not save their business.
"For bills that go up to €7,000, we receive €800 euros, which is good but far from enough to keep going," he explained, "these are merely crumbs."
As a result, alongside thirty other bakers, they have decided to pour crumbs at the official headquarters of the Walloon Government in protest.
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Another demonstrator told the RTBF that they had joined the protest as "we are on borrowed time" and "we will soon be in the same situation as Pascale Dumont."
Furthermore, they explained that their house was above the bakery, which meant that if their business were to close, they would also lose his house.
To combat this, protesters are calling for a social tariff for all affected craftsmen, not only bakers, but also butchers and hairdressers, as well for a reduction in energy prices for the general population.
