"Poor people should not have to pay the consequences of war": La France Insoumise calls for a freeze on energy prices

La France insoumise is calling for a freeze on energy prices.

"It's not up to poor people who can't afford to suffer the consequences of a war (in the Middle East, editor's note) for which they bear no responsibility," said Manuel Bompard, LFI deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône, on the France 3 news program this Sunday, March 8. "It's not up to poor people to struggle; it's up to large companies, multinationals that made enormous profits after Covid, to contribute," he insisted. On Friday, SP95-E10, the most commonly used gasoline in France, was selling for an average of 10 cents more than a week earlier, before the start of the war in the Middle East, according to government figures. The increase in diesel prices is even more pronounced: it was selling for an average of €1.98 per liter, compared to around €1.72 on February 27, representing an increase of 26 cents (+15%). Conversely, users subscribed to the regulated electricity tariff will not see their bills increase for the time being. No revision is planned before August. The government defends its actions. Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally (RN) deputies, had proposed on Wednesday lowering fuel taxes to offset the increases. Under pressure from the political opposition to contain fuel prices, the government defended its actions on Thursday, refuting the notion that the state was the "big winner" in the situation. For the government, there is no question of acting at this stage on taxes that the state needs and which, it asserts, are not so dependent on the price of energy. The Minister Delegate for Energy, Maud Bregeon, had deemed it "inconceivable" to lower VAT and the TICPE (domestic tax on petroleum products), as this would create a hole of nearly 20 billion euros in the state budget. The issue of energy prices has regularly ignited political debate since the 2022 energy crisis, linked to the war in Ukraine. Diesel and SP95-E10 gasoline then exceeded the psychological threshold of 2 euros per liter.