Lionel Gougelot, edited by Manon Fossat 7:59 am, October 19, 2021

A fuel check instead of lower taxes.

This is the solution favored by the Ministry of the Economy to relieve the purchasing power of the French.

A device that already exists in Hauts-de-France, where the poorest households receive a check for 20 euros per month to help them refuel.

REPORTING

Monday morning, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire highlighted on Europe 1 the fuel check to fight against the rise in prices at the pump rather than a reduction in taxation.

This device is therefore the solution favored by the Ministry of the Economy to relieve the purchasing power of the French.

But what will it look like?

In Hauts-de-France, we have already moved on to practical work.

Each month, the region sends a fuel check of 20 euros to the most disadvantaged. 

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"A welcome boost"

Living in a rural area south of Lille, Anne-Sophie takes her car every day to go to work in an activity zone in Villeneuve-d'Ascq.

With no public transport possible, more than twenty kilometers of journey and a salary less than twice the minimum wage, this fuel check of 20 euros per month is rather well received.

"It's half a full tank and I do about 4 a month. In the current context, it's very, very good because the prices at the pump are skyrocketing so the boost is welcome. in this period, "she admits.

The system is also accessible to employees working in the city, but with staggered hours.

A "good philosophy" according to Macron

An employer certificate and a few clicks on the region's website are enough to be entitled to it.

Three years ago, on Europe 1, Emmanuel Macron had also qualified this check as "good philosophy".

So according to Antoine Sillani, elected to the Regional Council, it could very well be enlarged at the national level.

"I think the state has put in place structures that are much more complicated than a fuel check," he says.

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"I can only be delighted that the government is taking up Xavier Bertrand's good ideas. The energy crisis will accentuate the problems, but it is not a new phenomenon and I regret that the President of the Republic waited six months before the elections to act, "he continues.

This year, 48,000 fuel check requests were registered with the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, for a budget of just over 9 million euros.