This measure, intended to deal with soaring fuel prices, is due to end at the end of August.
As fuel prices remain at extremely high levels, will the government rebate be extended again? This is what Bruno Le Maire proposes in an interview with echoes published this Wednesday. “Why not consider an extension of the 18 cent discount until the end of the year, if economic conditions require it […] ?“, declared the Minister of Economy to the economic daily.
Read alsoIs the state really making “no money” from rising fuel prices?
On CNews on Wednesday morning, the Bercy tenant reiterated his remarks. “I make a proposal: it is to discuss with all those who wish toNational Assembly to see if the discount of 18 cents should not be extended until the end of December“, he repeated. A government measure put in place in April and which was originally due to end in July. But the executive finally indicated in early June that it would be maintained in August.
Originally, the government’s plan was to “gradually reduce the discount of 18 cents from September for a scheduled end in December“, repeated Bruno Le Maire to the echoes. “But we are aware of the reality of the prices at the pump“, he underlined. For petrol and diesel, they now stand at more than two euros per litre.
An additional measure for large riders
On the other hand, the Minister of the Economy expressed his opposition to the measure, proposed by Les Républicains, to detax fuels, to reduce the price to 1.50 euros per litre. “With a price per liter today at 2.20 euros without a discount of 18 cents, this would represent an expenditure of 50 billion euros for the State, i.e. more than the budget of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. And all this to subsidize fossil fuels!“, he estimated.
Read alsoFuel discount: Bruno Le Maire asks for an “extra effort” from TotalEnergies
In addition to the extension of the government rebate, there would be a measure targeted at “all those who have to take their car to go to work“, already mentioned by the executive, indicated Bruno Le Maire on CNews. “This is an additional mechanism which, again, must be discussed with parliamentarians. We want to provide more support to the less well-off who are forced to take their car to get to work, salaried employees, self-employed or work-study“, he developed in The echoes.