French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Saturday a “discount at the pump of 15 cents per liter” from April 1 and for 4 months for all French people, in order to cope with soaring fuel prices.
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This measure, which will cost around 2 billion euros to the State, concerns households as well as businesses and will be “valid on all fuels”, specified the Prime Minister to the newspaper Le Parisien. “This means that for each full 60 liters, you will save 9 euros,” he said.
This reduction will be made at the time of payment, at the cash desk or by credit card at the pump, and will therefore not be immediately visible on the prices displayed at the entrance to the station, detailed the head of government.
If the State will then “reimburse” the distributors, Jean Castex called on them, just like the “oil companies”, to make themselves “an additional gesture”.
“How would the French understand that they pay a full tank of diesel at 2 euros, while at the same time the oil companies are still making big profits,” he wondered.
“If the state makes an effort of 15 cents per litre, and if they make an effort of 5 cents, for example, it is indeed 20 cents that must end up in the pocket of the French”, further urged the Prime Minister .
In an attempt to stem the effects of the continuous rise in energy prices for months, aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government has already taken several measures, such as freezing the price of gas, limiting it to 4 % of the increase in electricity, or even an “exceptional energy check”.
This series of measures represents more than 20 billion, according to Mr. Castex.
The Prime Minister must also unveil next week “an economic and social resilience plan” in the face of the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
Asked about a possible clientelism trial, less than a month before the first round of the presidential election for which the Head of State Emmanuel Macron is a candidate, Mr. Castex argued that the price of fuel had become “the first concern of the French”.
“Do you see me telling them + move around, there is nothing to see! + because there is an election in less than thirty days? It is not my conception of my responsibility,” he said.