Revaluation of social minimaextension of the fuel discount of 18 cents and the tariff shield on energy, tripling of the Macron bonus… The bill “relating to emergency measures for the protection of purchasing power” is debated, from Monday, July 18, in the National Assembly. The deputies will continue, from Thursday, with the examination of the project of amending finances for 2022 which should make it possible to finance and complete these measures.
On the side of the majority, it is time for mobilization. “All weekend, the phones heated up all over the place, we consulted left and right (…) to find voices of agreement and be able to tell the opposition that we want to work with them”, assured Monday on France 2, the spokesman of the government, Olivier Véran. If certain government measures seem to achieve consensus, such as the deconjugalization of the allowance for disabled adults, the opposition also intends to amend the executive’s project. Here are their main proposals.
Republicans in favor of lowering the price of fuel to 1.50 euros
The 62 deputies Les Républicains have set “three priorities”. The first is the drop in the price of fuel to 1.50 euros per liter, while diesel and unleaded 95 E10 sell on average at nearly 2 euros per liter, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Transition. ecological. “The idea is to be able to lower all the taxes to reach 1.50 euros per litre”explained in early July the deputy LR Emilie Bonnivard in an interview with the Sunday newspaper. Currently, VAT and the domestic consumption tax on energy products (TICPE) represent around half of the price at the pump, according to calculations by the French Union of Petroleum Industries.
In addition to the reduction in fuel prices, the leader of the LR deputies, Olivier Marleix, also pleaded, in a letter sent to the Prime Minister at the beginning of July, for the“cancellation of the increase in the CSG [contribution sociale généralisée] on all pensioners. Finally, Republicans are in favor of a “revaluation of work and not only of social minima”. “We will therefore defend a reduction in charges to increase the net salary” for employees and the self-employed, promised Olivier Marleix. For its part, the executive is already planning a reduction in the contributions of the self-employed, of the order of 550 euros per year for an income at the level of the minimum wage.
The proposals of the right-wing MPs were sharply criticized by the government. “We cannot say on the one hand that we absolutely want to reduce the public debt, that we must reduce public spending, (…) and then on the other hand to table amendments the same day for a reduction in the CSG at 70 billion euros, for fuel capped at 1.50 euros per liter for tens of billions of euros. A little consistency”launched the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, during a speech delivered on July 12 at the Medef.
The National Rally defends a reduction in VAT on fuels and energy
Faithful to its desire to appear as a government party, the National Rally could vote for the text “even imperfect” because’“It’s urgent”, estimated Jordan Bardella, July 12, on franceinfo. The RN still intends to weigh in on the debates and defend its amendments, because the government’s text on purchasing power “will only partially answer” to the concern of the French, according to the acting chairman of the party.
On the price of gasoline, for example, the party of Marine Le Pen is not convinced by the discount of 18 cents at the pump, which the government plans to extend until the end of September, then to gradually replace it with an indemnity means-tested “workers” fuel. The 89 RN deputies rather wish to defend a reduction in VAT from 20% to 5.5% on fuel, electricity, gas and fuel oil. The National Rally also castigated the government’s “method”: “As long as we have such a high tax on energy, electricity, gas, then distributing checks will be a bottomless pit”denounced Jordan Bardella.
La Nupes proposes an increase in the minimum wage to 1,500 euros and a “price blocking”
On the Nupes side, Mathilde Panot judges “dangerous” the text of the government. “In reality, through this text, we are acting on something which is a drop in purchasing power for people”, launched on Monday July 18 on franceinfo the president of the group La France insoumise at the National Assembly. The First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, for his part evoked a text of “least loss” rather than purchasing power.
The elected officials of Nupes have therefore worked on a “social emergency” counter-project, the measures of which they intend to take to the hemicycle. On the level of salaries, the 151 Insoumis deputies, socialists, ecologists and communists agreed on an increase in the Smic to the tune of 1,500 euros. They also defend a revalorization the value of the index point of civil servants by 10%, while the executive has for its part proposed an increase of 3.5%.
On housing, the Nupes pleads for the freezing of the reference index of rents, while the government has positioned itself on a cap on the increase in rents at 3.5% maximum for one year. Left-wing MEPs are also in favor of a revaluation of personalized housing aid (APL) up to 10%, against 3.5% proposed by the government. The left alliance also defends a “price freeze” of “basic necessities”. A measure that would concern food, hygiene products, energy and fuels.