Jean Castex presented his “resilience plan” on Wednesday to help businesses and the French cope with inflation. The government refuses to talk about “whatever the cost” but it looks like it. The eco decryption of Fanny Guinochet.
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To deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the government is reactivating measures which were at the heart of “whatever it costs”: state-guaranteed loans, cash advances, partial unemployment or even deferrals of charges. .. The resilience plan, presented on Wednesday March 16 by Jean Castex, also provides for a whole section for companies whose electricity and gas expenses represent more than 3% of turnover. I‘State will bear half of the surplus of their energy bill.
The measures target certain sectors and certain companies, but the aid is generalized for households. The proof is: the reduction of 15 euro cents per liter of fuel will apply, from April 1, regardless of income level and regardless of the number of kilometers traveled by motorists. The government wants to go quickly and takes out the checkbook widely.
According to the Minister of‘Economy Bruno le Maire, the energy crisis has cost 30 billion euros to the‘State, since 6 months. Admittedly, this is not as much as the hundreds of billions of euros spent by the‘State during the Covid but it is important. To finance these new unforeseen expenses, the‘State will again call for the loan.
AT the approach of the presidential election, the government wants to avoid social tensions. No question of taking the risk of seeing a movement like that of the Yellow Vests appear. The executive wants at all costs to avoid conflagration. Oil depots have been blocked for several days in Brittany by transporters and disgruntled farmers, worried about this surge in fuel prices. The mobilization continues despite the presentation of the resilience plan. Not sure that the measures announced by Jean Castex, as important as they are, are not enough to calm the anger.