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| Many French citizens are struggling with record prices at the pump.Motorists have been hit by soaring fuel prices: diesel has risen to a record €1.56 per litre on average in France, and unleaded petrol to €1.62 per litre, the daily Le Monde reports. (Photo by=AFP) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] The French government has announced a one-off payment of €100 (£84; $116) for each citizen whose monthly net income is €2,000 or less, to help counter the surge in fuel and energy prices.
BBC said that the "inflation allowance" will go to about 38 million French people automatically, including those who do not drive a car or ride a motorbike.
The first payments will go to business employees in late December.Civil servants, students, and pensioners will get theirs in early 2022.The €100 payment will be tax-free and Prime Minister Jean Castex said it would cost the government €3.8bn (£3.2bn; $4.4bn). That would be far less than the cost of cutting fuel duty, he said. President Emmanuel Macron is six months away from a presidential election and the spike in energy prices threatens to trigger a new wave of mass protests. Some 13 million pensioners and two-thirds of students will be among those who receive the €100. It will also go to about half of all workers, as €2,000 is the average net monthly income.
Europe is facing widespread discontent after world energy prices spiked, largely a result of huge demand from businesses recovering from the long Covid paralysis. The energy market turmoil has had a knock-on effect, disrupting supply chains and causing some shortages of fuel and other consumer goods.
