Breeders, farmers, road hauliers, or even fishermen… The anger caused by the rise in energy prices has largely crossed the borders of France. Faced with an unprecedented strike, which has undermined the country’s supply, Spain declared on Thursday March 24 that it was putting 1 billion euros more on the table to reduce fuel prices. A few days earlier, it was Great Britain which announced new tax measures to help households, which were however deemed to be very insufficient, while inflation across the Channel reached 6.2% in February.
Protect purchasing power
Since last August, many European states have adopted measures to combat soaring energy prices. But with the war in Ukraine, the pace of this new energy “whatever it takes” has accelerated even further.
Last week, Belgium announced a reduction from 21% to 6% in VAT on gas, and an inflation check of €200 for gas-heated households. Even Germany, which had braked four irons before loosening the purse strings, announced Thursday a new package of measures including in particular a reduction in fuel taxation, which could cost several billion.
→ THE FACTS. Germany lowers fuel taxes and public transport prices
With its resilience plan of more than 20 billion euros, including in particular the discount of 15 cents on fuel prices, France is certainly one of the most “protective” or “expensive” countries, according to the privileged perspective. Thanks to the measures adopted since the fall, inflation was limited to 3.6% in February. “France is also one of the rare countries to have refused to lower fuel taxes, no doubt so as not to give the wrong signal to the energy transition. adds Christopher Dembik, Saxo Bank’s research director.
Avoid the inflationary spiral
“While the terms are different, these measures all respond to the same logic, that of supporting household purchasing power and business margins, hoping that the energy shock will remain temporary.deciphers Philippe Waechter, director of research at Ostrum Asset Management. By bearing the additional energy costs, the States hope to avoid indexation between wages and prices, and ultimately a shock to growth. »
The inflationary spiral is indeed the great concern of governments, which all have in mind the oil crises of the early 1970s, and their cascading consequences on the rise in prices. “But at the time, the context was very different, since the governments themselves had encouraged companies, with the backing of the unions, to increase wages”recalls Philippe Waechter.
For the time being, the French government ensures that no sign of a spiral has been detected, unlike, for example, in the United States or Great Britain, where central bankers have been forced to intervene. In the euro zone (5.8% inflation in February), the ECB continues to claim to be powerless in the face of inflation that is essentially based on energy prices.
A pretty windfall
Today, the whole question is how long these supposedly temporary emergency measures will last. “The risk is to consider the war as the only responsible for the rise in energy prices, when it is very clear that it is largely structural, in particular because of the cost of the energy transition”emphasizes Christopher Dembik.
To finance their measures, Italy and Romania have just announced that they will tax the superprofits of energy companies. The Italian government – which has already put 16 billion euros on the table since the fall – hopes to collect 4.4 billion from this exceptional tax. A pretty manna that France refuses for the moment to covet.