“The state does not earn money on fuel taxes”, assured Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on Wednesday, questioned during a public meeting on Wednesday evening in Vire (Calvados), where she is campaigning for the legislative elections. .
Élisabeth Borne described the situation as “quite paradoxical” and a “delicate” moment to “protect the purchasing power of the French” when “at the same time, the maximum amount of money is needed to get out of dependence on energy fossils”. “We have to invest a lot of resources to succeed in the ecological transition, the energy transition, and for the moment we are massively investing resources to finance fossil fuels”, she continued.
The prices of road fuels sold in France rose last week, with gasoline rising above the 2 euro mark despite the pump discount put in place by the government.
Borne confirms that it wants to “get out of fossil fuels”
“We must also bear in mind that we must naturally protect purchasing power, and we will do so. We will continue on this tariff shield, and that at the same time we absolutely have to manage to make this shift, to reduce the consumption of buildings, to change the heating systems, to switch to electric cars. And that we can devote the maximum of the country’s resources to getting out of fossil fuels rather than subsidizing fossil fuels,” explained Élisabeth Borne.
The extension until the end of the year of the “tariff shield” (cap on electricity and gas prices) has been recorded. “Everyone must be aware that the tariff shield is 20 to 25 billion expenses,” explained the Prime Minister Wednesday evening to her audience, won by the presidential majority.