Elisabeth Borne stated that the “first bill to be examined will relate towards purchasing power” at Friday’s 8:00 p.m. newspaper, TF1, on Friday May 20, 20. The Prime Minister stated that the proposed measures would include the creation of a food control and the restriction of energy prices. The new head of government stated that they are currently working on a food control, which will also be included in the bill. He also spoke about price shield measures and how the reductions in fuel prices would be extended.
She said that she was aware of the French concerns about purchasing power and assured them that she had “ofcourse heard” their concerns. She added that “there are also measures that were anticipated, such as the revaluation pensions and the tripling Macron bonus.”
Similar, Bruno Le Maire (number two in the government) stated this Saturday, May 21, that the “priority of the new government” will be “protection for the French against inflation”, which is close to 5% in April.
“From tomorrow, we will therefore get down (…) preparation of the bill sur la puissance de purchase”, stated Friday’s re-election of Minister of Economy and Finance after a five-year tenure at Bercy. “I will be receiving economic players Monday to discuss with them how they can help protect the French from rising prices.
Recent days have seen persistent expectations regarding purchasing power being recalled. In an open letter, eight public service unions stated that “the first of the emergencies are those of wages and purchasing power”. This was sent to the president on Tuesday May 17, and Elisabeth Borne who was appointed the day before.
Francois Ruffin, LFI MP, suggested last week that he would like to see an indexation of wages to inflation.
Marylise Leon demanded “Quick Answers to (…) Live with Dignity from One’s Work” on Tuesday in an editorial posted on the CFDT Website. This editorial was not related to the open letter.
These injunctions were issued because inflation continues to accelerate in recent weeks: According to INSEE, consumer prices rose by 4.8% in April compared to one year ago.
According to the most recent economic report by the National Institute of Statistics, a waltz of labels should decrease the purchasing power of Frenchmen by 1.5% and 0.5% respectively in the first and second quarters.
The government has not made any secret of its main consumer support measures. These include the unfreezing the index point for civil servants, reductions in contributions for self-employed, food inspections, revaluation or elimination of the TV license fees.
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The calendar is still being refined. Gabriel Attal, spokesperson for the executive, confirmed that the package of measures was to be included in an amending budget. This amendment budget was presented shortly after the legislative elections (June 12-19).
This deadline is longer than originally announced. Julien Denormandie, the Minister of Agriculture, had previously promised that the food check would be deployed “immediately” after the election of Emmanuel Macron, the president re-elected at the end April.
Amelie de Montchalin, Civil Service Minister, pledged a general increase of 5.7 million civil servants in mid-March.
“After drawing 4 to5 PLFR (Amendment Finance Bill), in extreme urgency during Covid-19 pandemic,” underlines AFP Lisa Thomas Thomas-Darbois researcher at the Institut Montaigne.
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It seems especially difficult to set up the food voucher, which was created by Emmanuel Macron in mid-December 2020.
Judge Lisa Thomas-Darbois, a former technical advisor to the Ministry of Public Accounts, said that “the (electoral] reserve periods make certain work more complicated”.
Bercy said Tuesday, May 17, that “we are still working” to develop the package of measures.
The PLFR is not yet known. However, there is no question about reconnecting with “whatever it costs”, as the government has been warned.
Before the presidential election, 26 billion euros were already on the table. These funds are divided between the energy “tariff shield” and the resilience plan to face the war in Ukraine.
This bill is already very high so we must target the aid measures precisely, said the president of Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux last week.
The difficulty in the current situation is that the increase in energy prices, which are the main drivers of inflation, “isn’t due to a tax revenue that can be redistributed, reinvested or reinvested but to a tension in world prices that does not generate tax benefits”, said Hippolyte D’Albis, economist at the end April.
“Compensation by State for the least wealthy households” is what the President of the Circle of economists stated in his note.
