diff --git a/snap/snapcraft.yaml b/snap/snapcraft.yaml
index f0107070f..301537a50 100644
--- a/snap/snapcraft.yaml
+++ b/snap/snapcraft.yaml
@@ -72,7 +72,9 @@ parts:
       - python3-pkg-resources
       - python3.8-minimal
     # To build cryptography and cffi if needed
-    build-packages: [libffi-dev, libssl-dev, git, libaugeas-dev, python3-dev]
+    build-packages: [gcc, libffi-dev, libssl-dev, git, libaugeas-dev, python3-dev]
+    build-environment:
+      - SNAPCRAFT_PYTHON_VENV_ARGS: --system-site-packages
     override-pull: |
         snapcraftctl pull
         cd $SNAPCRAFT_PART_SRC