Like milk on the fire. In this return which is presented in a rather favorable light both in terms of health and the economy, Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, admits that he is monitoring prices as closely as the rate of incidence of the virus. Especially those of gasoline at the pump and gas, which climbed during the summer thanks to the tensions on the world markets, and begin to weigh more heavily on the budget of the households.
Because in France, like almost everywhere in Europe and the United States, prices start to rise again as the Delta variant recedes, as consumption picks up again and the recovery takes hold. In August, they grew by 1.9% over one year in France, according to provisional data from INSEE – an unprecedented acceleration for nearly three years, largely driven by the surge in energy prices. “It’s a real subject”, admitted Bruno Le Maire in front of journalists on Tuesday, August 31, adding that he “No particular concern” about inflation but be “Vigilant”.
While the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, receives from Wednesday and until the end of the week the social partners in Matignon, the executive and its majority closely monitor anything that could cause tensions in public opinion, a few months before the presidential election of 2022.
A government seminar scheduled for September 8 should also be an opportunity to examine, among other things, the risks weighing on the action of the executive in the last months of the quinquennium, and to warn against any missteps. likely to disturb the end of the mandate. Like the about-face on the technical control of two-wheelers, established and then immediately suspended by Emmanuel Macron, in mid-August. “We must not, at a time when our fellow citizens already have many constraints, add more to them”, had explained the Head of State, August 17, on the sidelines of the anniversary ceremony of the liberation of Bormes-les-Mimosas (Var).
“Trap subject”
Even if the mobilization against the health past has weakened and the economic recovery is looking auspicious, with figures much better than expected in the second quarter both on the side of unemployment, back to its pre-crisis level (8% of the working population), that of growth, revised upwards Tuesday by INSEE (1.1%), the executive keeps an eye on anything that could crystallize discontent.
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