2023-09-19 05:30:14
Elisabeth Borne, surrounded by Sylvain Maillard, president of the Renaissance group in the National Assembly, and François Patriat, boss of the Renaissance senators, in Louan-Villegruis-Fontaine (Seine-et-Marne), September 14, 2023. JULIEN MUGUET FOR ” THE WORLD ”
After a scorching summer which lasted until September, the government thought it was at the heart of the French’s concerns by unveiling its plan on ecological planning, announced for mid-September. Bad luck, it is once again the question of purchasing power which is tormenting the population at the start of the school year, and which is catching up with the executive.
While inflation has been devouring household budgets for two years, the price of fuel is rising again, in the wake of soaring oil prices, coming close to the symbolic threshold of 2 euros per liter. And pushes the government, taken by surprise, to lift an old taboo: the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, announced to the Parisianon September 16, that distributors would be authorized to sell fuels ” at a loss “ during six months. “Purchasing power is our fight”assures the head of government.
However, there is no longer any question of writing checks to motorists. “The rebate is extremely expensive, we cannot reimburse the gasoline to eternal life »asserts Sacha Houlié, Renaissance president of the law commission of the National Assembly.
Weakened self-employed people
The Elysée recalls that more than 60 billion euros have been disbursed in two years to help the French overcome the post-Covid inflationary peak, accentuated by the war in Ukraine. “And we continue to cover more than 40% of the amount of electricity billsinsists an advisor to Emmanuel Macron. It is false to say that the State does not put its hand in its pocket. » The ghost of Liz Truss, the British Prime Minister who had to resign just six weeks after her arrival at 10 Downing Street for having presented a shaky budget, still haunts, a year later, the French executive, who argues for her budgetary seriousness .
“We want everyone to take responsibility,” encourages Elisabeth Borne in The Parisian Sunday, citing as an example TotalEnergies and its liter capped at 1.99 euros, or the cost price operations of certain major retail brands. Prohibited by law since 1963, the possibility of selling fuel at a loss is included in a bill which will be presented to the Council of Ministers at the end of September and debated in Parliament in October. It will be effective ” early December “said the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, on Monday.
But the first criticisms were not long in coming regarding a decision taken in haste which will benefit the large stores, which will be able to catch up on other everyday consumer products, while the independents will be weakened. Proof of the improvisation which led to the announcement, the professional union Mobilians, representing 5,800 service stations excluding supermarkets, announced Monday evening that Bercy had committed, following an emergency meeting, to establish “compensation measures” for independent service stations… without however specifying the amount promised by the executive. Proving the Oise MP and former budget minister Eric Woerth right, who predicted to the Mondeat the beginning of the afternoon that “ in the end there is always someone who pays ».
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