we have scrutinized the measures for the purchasing power of Macron and Le Pen

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THE CHEKING PROCESS – First concern of the French, the purchasing power aroused ideas and declarations of the candidates. On this day of inter-round debate, Le Figaro checked out some of them.

Who will best defend the household portfolio? For several weeks, inflation hitting the end of the month hard for the French has become the main subject of the presidential campaign. Unions, employers, politicians and employees have taken up the subject. Marine Le Pen like Emmanuel Macron have taken a number of positions on this key issue, promising to protect purchasing power.

Fuel, electricity, food, VAT… Le Figaro looked at several measures put forward by the two candidates and some of their statements on the matter. We invite you to find a selection.

A boost to the minimum wage, counterproductive?

This is one of the avenues put forward by the left-wing candidates in the presidential election: a “boostat the minimum wage would increase the wages of millions of French people, and increase their purchasing power, argued the suitors for the Elysée. An idea rejected by the executive, despite the high inflation observed for a few months: in this case, “prices catch up with wages and wages catch up with prices in a kind of parrot scale that never ends, and it is the employees who end up losing”, estimated the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, in March. Is right ?

Fuels: playing on VAT, a way to reduce prices at the pump?

Another track put forward by Marine Le Pen: playing on the taxation of fuels would protect the portfolio of households, judges the candidate RN. While prices at the pump have risen sharply since the start of the war in Ukraine, the finalist in the presidential election recommends lowering the VAT on fuels to reduce the weight of taxes – around 50 to 60% of the final price – in the invoice paid by the consumer. But would this track be applicable, or would it be prevented by European law?

SEE ALSO – “Inflation out of control, drop in VAT, TICPE…”: Marine Le Pen details her measures for purchasing power

The Macron five-year term, marked by a loss of purchasing power?

In front of the “loss of purchasing power“Will households sanction the executive in place? On several occasions, Marine Le Pen and her entourage attacked Emmanuel Macron on his record in defending the wallets of the French. “The feelings of the French correspond to reality: they have lost purchasing power“, assured the candidate, in April. But what do the – numerous – studies on this subject really say? Has Macron’s five-year term really been a failure in this area?

SEE ALSO – Presidential 2022: “It was our project and it is now our assessment!”, Exclaims Emmanuel Macron

Inflation: are massive increases to be expected in a few weeks?

Is the worst yet to come? During a trip, Marine Le Pen warned of the price increases that are looming in a few weeks, particularly in the food sector. “A wall of inflation is coming. In food it is partly there, food prices are increasing, they will increase in the coming weeks“, she said. Are his fears justified?

Gas: the “tariff shield», a short-term solution?

Will the billions of euros put on the table by the government in the face of soaring energy prices be useless? For Marine Le Pen, gas will experience a further increase in the next few months: “Regulated gas prices end next July. If there are no more regulated tariffs, the price of gas will double”, she said, in February. Is his concern legitimate?

Fuels: “block prices“, a possible avenue?

Faced with rising prices at the pump, each contender for the Elysée has advanced his own track. And, between the discount of fifteen to eighteen centimes, on the Macron side, and the reduction in taxation, on the Le Pen side, some were advancing a third way. During the campaign, Fabien Roussel, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Eric Zemmour all three suggested “block prices» of fuels, in order to guarantee a «decent price“. Would this lead be legal and effective?

A 0% VAT on a hundred products, a way to reduce the receipt?

The great evils, the great remedies: to relieve the wallet of consumers, the candidate RN proposes to play, there too, on taxation. Marine Le Pen suggests removing VAT on a hundred products deemed essential, in order to reduce the final price. But would this measure be applicable, from a legal point of view? And would it really be effective in protecting the purchasing power of the French?

Also find our other checks on the two candidates present in the second round of the presidential election


SEE ALSO – Presidential: the home stretch

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