what they want to change in 2026

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Known for its cheese, Coulommiers, a town of 15,000 inhabitants in Seine-et-Marne, is going through its final preparations for the holidays and already has 2026 in mind. In a bakery, gaining purchasing power is a priority for next year according to customers. Faced with the increase in the price of gasoline expected in January, Delphine Parisse, a customer, is counting on her son Virgil to find her good deals: “Virgil calls us to tell us that the fuel is at a good price, and that we can come. This saves us from having to travel, because we live in the countryside. So if we can scrounge up a few cents at the station, we won’t mind.“

For Maëva Dominguez, the manager of the bakery, the costs are too high. In 2026, we will therefore have to make savings. Its priority, the fight against waste: “We created sheets that we fill out every morning and every evening to really see the levels of loss on the product. If we exceed 20%, we no longer make a product. For example, there was a small spelled loaf, it was no longer selling, it reached 20% losses, so we are withdrawing it altogether. And then, we replaced it with chestnut flour. Then he left again. Now we can no longer afford to operate as before. There, we really have to calculate everything. It’s to the nearest cent.“

A little further in the town, the Restos du Cœur. Here, 30 volunteers decided to focus on commitment. Among them, Claude Gagnon, he joined the team last week: “Former bank branch director. What are you doing here, then? It allows me to have contacts. I have been retired for five years. It allows me to have contacts. It makes me feel useful.“

Feel useful. Danielle Demange has been faithful to the post for 22 years. And next year? “Well, maybe a little old now“, she jokes. Today, the association is launching an appeal to young people for next year. “It helps us, eh, because you see everything we’re wearing and everything, there. We need young people to come and help us with collections“, declares Danielle Yniesta, manager of the Restos du Cœur center.

As 2025 draws to a close, parents, children and grandchildren are gathered together for the holidays. Their resolution for 2026: that the family remains their safe haven. “Everything comes first for the family. I mean, the brothers and sisters, they all live there, we all live pretty much in the four corners of France. And I think that there is a primary organization which is geared towards these moments of meeting“, says Fabien Renaux.

They have already planned to see each other again during the next vacation. On their faces and in their eyes, the joy of meeting again. A precious fuel at the dawn of a new year.