Yohann Tritz, edited by Gauthier Delomez 6:44 p.m., March 13, 2022

Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Saturday "a discount at the pump of 15 cents" for all motorists, hit by soaring fuel prices.

The measure is generally well received, but some point to its electoral character, and advocate other longer-term solutions.

"Obviously, it's a good measure, it was necessary", underlines Pierre Chasseray, general delegate of the association 40 million motorists, at the microphone of Europe 1. But there is a but: "It is not only temporary, it only postpones the problem."

Opinions are divided the day after the announcement of Prime Minister Jean Castex, who promised "a discount of 15 cents at the pump" for all motorists from April 1, for a period of four months.

This “rebate”, which will concern all fuels, should cost the State around two billion euros.

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The "electoral dimension" pointed out

"The French are living in a period when fuel prices are constantly rising. The government has done nothing because there is an electoral dimension behind it", thunders Pierre Chasseray on Europe 1. "We had to put this measure in place closest to the presidential election", he continues, wondering: "I am still quite surprised that it is falling now after hearing the nonsense of Bruno Le Maire, who explained to us for weeks that we could not not do it. Today, the state is forced to make this gesture."

And the general delegate of the association 40 million motorists underlines that "a reduction of 15 cents on the price of fuel costs nothing to the State. Currently, we are in a situation of overpayment. So, the biggest winner from this rise in oil prices is the state."

If Pierre Chasseray welcomes the fact that the error has been "corrected", he finally believes that this reduction "will do good to motorists. It's a good thing, but we can go a little further", tempers t he all the same.

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Should we rather reform the VAT?

"Is it normal, on essential goods, for the consumer to be the cash cow?" Says Alain Bazot, president of UFC Que Choisir, at the microphone of Europe 1. This one-off measure is not a good solution, according to him.

"I can't understand that the state is taking a lot of money, making fat from the price increases, for a redistributed price. It had better not take at the start, and it wouldn't have to redistribute", advances the president of UFC Que Choisir.

To illustrate his point, Alain Bazot points to a fault in the measurement: "In 2021, the price of diesel was on average 1.40 euros, which is 23 cents of VAT. Since diesel has gone to two euros, the government recovers 33 cents, so it has a good game after generously returning 15 cents when it takes 33."

The president of UFC Que Choisir therefore explains that he is in favor of opening a debate on the "unfair" VAT, which concerns "current expenditure goods and essential goods."