Emmanuel Macron hates imposed figures and this is precisely what he had to do on Sunday evening on television. Be careful, slippery slope: how to deal with a subject, in this case purchasing power, which all ministers agree is intractable – “It’s a battle lost in advance”, says the one of them – and which the president ended up conceding was essential if he wanted to avoid his televised intervention appearing completely above ground? Praising the wonderful French week, from Charles III to Pope Francis, would not be enough to fill the wallet…
To resolve a problem that cannot be resolved, the head of state resorts to an antiphrase: “I am not going to do the work of the government and Parliament.” Understand: I am obliged to do exactly the opposite of what I say, because my ministers cannot do it. Starting with the First of them, the bad example comes from above. Emmanuel Macron buried without flowers or wreaths Elisabeth Borne’s proposal to present a bill authorizing the sale of fuel at a loss. The idea came from management at Bercy and goes back to Bruno Le Maire. The Minister of the Economy consults and quickly realizes that distributors do not want to hear about it. On September 15, he informed the secretary general of the Elysée, Alexis Kohler.
But to everyone’s surprise, two days later, Elisabeth Borne took out the trumpets to solemnly announce in The Parisian : “Today, I am announcing to you that exceptionally on fuel and over a limited period of a few months, we are going to lift this ban, which will allow distributors to further lower prices. With this unprecedented measure, we will have tangible results for the French, without subsidizing fuel. Purchasing power is our fight.” Worse, in the following hours, the government let it slip that the reduction in fuel could go up to 47 cents below the price.
We know the rest: it’s hallali. Some ministers receive visits from farmers in their constituencies. They are not concerned, but their reasoning raises many concerns: “We understand, you start with gasoline, then it will be foodstuffs.” Sunday morning, the Elysée marks the burial of the measure. There will be no bill in October, as Bruno Le Maire announced. It’s hard to get your feet wet in a more spectacular way. “We scared people and it blew up in our faces,” summarizes a minister. “We can’t put ideas out there like that, it’s overestimating the role of politics.”
“We are facing a black hole”
But the pressure of public opinion on inflation in this month of September makes everything else the executive says inaudible. Some have understood that the speech on the return of full employment was of no use, in any case proving very insufficient to appease the growing anger. All day Sunday, the phone is heating up, especially between the Elysée and Bercy. Emmanuel Macron and Bruno Le Maire speak to each other several times. The president is looking for the martingale, the Minister of the Economy wants to remain firm on his fundamentals: we must hold out for a maximum of one year. “This subject confuses everything, benchmarks, income, truths, we are facing a black hole,” summarizes a relative.
On TF1 and France 2, Emmanuel Macron announces that he is extending targeted state aid for fuel, up to 100 euros per year, for the most modest households. Officially, it is certainly not a question of extending the checkbook policy, but we quickly get lost in this semantic debate. Scalded cat fears cold water: Emmanuel Macron holds the reins of his government. How will negotiations between manufacturers and distributors progress? “I will see to it personally,” he announces. And here is the president obliged to be on the front line on an issue from which political leaders never emerge victorious.