2023-10-17 11:24:25
By Anne de Guigné
Published on 03/10/2022 at 7:40 p.m., Updated 1 minute ago
In 1974, France’s black gold bill had almost quadrupled in just two years, representing a drawdown equivalent to 3% of GDP. AFP
STORY – The war between Israel and Hamas has not yet unduly disrupted energy markets. It revives a bitter memory in Europe: 50 years ago, the Yom Kippur War marked the end of the Thirty Glorious Years.
One of the other big problems, Mr. President, currently, for all French people, is oil. Some people wonder if we are telling the truth to the French when it comes to oil…” The journalist, Jean-Marie Cavada, is insistent. In that winter of 1973, the country fell into disquiet. Two months earlier, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an oil embargo. Energy prices are soaring, taking with them post-war dreams of eternal prosperity.
Rumors speak of a standstill in automobile traffic, an interruption of heating in hospitals, the ruin of industrial activity… Despite the illness which is gnawing at him, Georges Pompidou strives to remain good-natured. Former professor appeals “to this traditional virtue, it seems, of the French people which is the spirit of economy. Let’s save gas. Let’s save electricity. Let’s save on heating. May all French people help government action…
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