Barthélémy Philippe with AFP / Photo credits: IAN LANGSDON / AFP 07:00, September 25, 2023

Invited Sunday evening of the television news of 20 hours of TF1 and France 2, Emmanuel Macron made sensational announcements on two subjects that particularly worry the French and especially the most modest, food inflation and fuel prices, which are close to the two euros at the pump.

The President of the Republic spoke this Sunday evening in an interview with the newspapers of 20H of TF1 and France 2. Emmanuel Macron has multiplied the announcements to try to reassure the French, especially on the issue of purchasing power. In particular, he announced new aid to compensate for the high price of fuel, "limited to workers" and the most modest.

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Relaunch of the fuel voucher

Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday a new aid to compensate for the high price of fuel, "limited to workers" and the most modest, and which could reach "100 euros per car per year". It is "limited, but much more relevant", because it will address "people who work and who need to ride", and will not go beyond half of the French who earn the least, said the head of state, explaining that he asked the government to develop this device.

A priori, a copy and paste of the fuel allowance in force at the beginning of the year which had cost 430 million euros to the State.

A sale of fuel "at cost price"

In addition, the president announced that the government was renouncing to authorize the sale at a loss of fuel, which Elisabeth Borne had announced a week ago, and asked distributors to "sell at cost price". "The threat to lower the threshold for selling at a loss has been brandished. It will not be in Wednesday's text (in the Council of Ministers, Editor's note). We keep it as a threat," said the head of state, adding that the Prime Minister would "bring together all the actors of the sector this week" to "ask them to do at cost price".

Several supermarket chains are already doing this. For its part, the giant TotalEnergies caps the price per liter at 1.99 euros in the majority of its service stations.

The hunt for industrial margins

"The French are struggling, some have to choose between essential goods," the president acknowledged. Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday that the "60 largest agri-food manufacturers" would be gathered around a negotiating table to agree on an agreement limiting their margins. "We have large groups that have soared the prices of some of their brands and so we want to put them back around the table," he said on TF1 and France 2. "We will put in place, and I will personally ensure it, an agreement on margin moderation in the sector," with "controllers" who will carry out checks, he added.

A new law in favor of purchasing power will be presented Wednesday by the government.