It was one of the main themes of his presidential campaign. Speaking to Dimitri Pavlenko on Wednesday, Marine Le Pen warned of “purchasing power”, which “is collapsing” due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, before adding that “the tsunami of inflation is coming”: “We only suffered the first wave, there are others behind, probably more important.” According to her, the policy of the current head of state in this area does not help the situation. “Emmanuel Macron is aggravating this inflation through international decisions such as the embargo on Russian oil and gas, which may have the effect of tripling the price of gas,” she said.
The embargo, a “stupid” sanction
“I want the French to realize what the tripling of the price of gas will give them.” An increase which “will not only affect their personal bill, it will affect all the goods which are produced, which are obviously produced thanks to energy”. In this sense, the embargo decided by the European Union is a “stupid” sanction for the MP for Pas-de-Calais, since “if we do not buy oil from the Russians, [elle] will sell it to others”.
According to Marine Le Pen, “it will be bought by others at a higher price, because by creating a form of shortage like that, we increase the price of the raw material”, which means “that Russia will be richer after we implemented the European sanctions than she was before”. A “not malignant” decision, which “will have very serious consequences on the daily life of our compatriots”, she assured. The presidential finalist also believes that “we cannot sacrifice the French people on the grounds of moral considerations”.
“Bruno Le Maire is lying”
Inflation in France is at 5.2%, one of the lowest rates in Europe today, partly due to the measures taken by the government to stem the rise in prices. But for Marine Le Pen, “the problem with this policy is that it is transitory”. And to cite for example the discount of 18 cents at the pump, which “will not be for life”, contrary to his proposal to lower the VAT rate from 20 to 5.5.
She also castigated the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, who “lies when he says that there will be no price smoothing” from 2023. “Of course there will be price smoothing, and this is where electricity and gas bills will skyrocket.”