“Our first challenge is to respond to the urgency of purchasing power”, declared the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, on July 6 in her general policy speech. She then announced a rain of government aid aimed at relieving our fellow citizens of the increasingly unbearable burden of the constrained expense: transport, fuel, energy, rent, food…
But prices are not just a function of taxation and subsidies. Manufacturers or distributors play a major role in setting prices: beyond the financial impact, they must consider them as essential elements of their responsibility approach. And they have to explain it to us.
According to the very media Michel Edouard Leclerc, speaking on June 30 on BFM-TV, “half of the increases are not transparent, are suspicious”. Should we throw stones at these war profiteers who speculate against a backdrop of post-Covid and the Ukrainian crisis? But on July 3 at the “Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-LCI”, Aurore Bergé, president of the Renaissance group in the National Assembly, refuses the idea of a commission of inquiry on this subject and replies that it is the prices of private labels that have increased the most.
Who is to believe in this mess?
Extreme confusion reigns over the reality of the margins. Examples: TotalEnergies concedes a summer rebate of 12 centimes per liter of fuel (on motorways only), but at the same time posts a quarterly profit of almost 5 billion. Fast delivery services (less than 15 minutes) offer vouchers that can be over 40% off, but they are held at arm’s length by large private equity funds. A famous optician is offering three pairs of eyeglasses for 1 euro more than the price of the first, i.e. a 66% reduction.
Sales at a loss being prohibited by law, one can wonder about the structure of the cost price of certain products… All these discounts – and many others – cast strong suspicion on the reality of the price. All pose the problem of their proper understanding in a time of mistrust. Are these significant tariff efforts or simply a media charade? Are these companies sincerely guided by a desire for commitment in favor of the consumer or are we just dealing with a simple publicity stunt?
Hard to say when most of them communicate mainly through advertising, and too little through explanation. The financial reality is not the same behind a liter of petrol, a pair of glasses or a shopping basket, but, to make it known, it is not enough to communicate on the amount or the percentages of the discounts: the price must become a real subject of communication.
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