Prices at the pump are once again reaching record levels, weighing a little more on the French budget every day.
Invited this Monday morning on France Info, the Minister of the Economy has long highlighted the measures taken by the government to fight against this inflation of constrained expenses (price of electricity limited to 4%, inflation compensation of 100 euros... ), but ruled out making an additional gesture on fuel taxation: “
this is not the right solution
”, firmly insisted Bruno Le Maire.
However, the minister made a timid opening to motorists who have no alternative solutions: "
specific measures for those who have to take their vehicle to go to work
", are possible, wanted to reassure the
Read alsoFuels: why prices at the pump are breaking records
EDF, a public service
If the measures to fight against inflation delight a large part of the French, the companies on the front line are worried. This is the case of EDF, which the State forces to buy back electricity to resell it for less. An operation valued at "
8 billion euros
", according to the management of the group. A quote that did not move Bruno Le Maire, who wondered about the role of the company: "Is
it a public service, to help the French, or a company whose only goal is profit
", pretended to wonder the Minister, "
I opt for the first answer
". By the way, he took the opportunity to remind that theState was present for EDF when the structure went through difficult times: “
I didn't hear a lot of thanks at the time
,” he said.
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Another constrained expense is food.
After the baguette at 29 cents, Leclerc announced that he wanted to sell a kilo of pork at two euros.
Three times cheaper than market prices.
The former Minister of Agriculture questioned the merits of this policy, recalling that “
producers must live
”.
These various brakes on inflation will not suffice to settle the question of purchasing power, which is becoming more and more the major subject of concern for the French every day.
The secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, thus called for a better distribution of the fruits of the growth which reached more than 6.25% in 2021. Once is not custom, Bruno Le Maire explained "to be of agreement with this finding", of the trade union leader.
In particular, he encouraged the branches to make a special effort on the most modest salaries.
However, he ruled out resorting to coercion, as requested by the CFDT.