The peace agreement must be "the signal for the recovery" of the economy, according to Roland Lescure

The agreement reached between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East should be "the signal to revive" the economy, said Economy Minister Roland Lescure on Tuesday, June 16, at Bercy during a press briefing on fuel prices.

"This must be the signal for recovery. We must be able to ensure that the French economy gets back on a path to growth," the minister insisted, agreeing that "in recent weeks," the "macroeconomic news" had been, "to say the least, mixed."

An economic "recovery" that must come about, according to the minister, thanks to "a return of collective confidence" after the "wait-and-see" attitude of consumers in recent times.

Several economic indicators published at the end of May suggested a deterioration in the French economy, notably with rising inflation and a decline in consumption.

"We have good news (with this peace agreement, editor's note). We must both not spoil our pleasure, but above all take advantage of it to restart the machine," added Mr. Lescure before meeting with fuel distributors at his ministry.

On this subject, the minister clarified that the "aid" for high-mileage drivers was "obviously being maintained" and "obviously being distributed as planned." "We have received nearly 900.000 applications at this stage, and due to payment delays, we will have 667.000 payments," the minister stated.

Also present at the meeting, the Minister for SMEs and Tourism, Serge Papin, indicated that the government would "put pressure" on distributors if the drop in barrel prices was not passed on quickly enough to pump prices, while recalling that "the interest" of distributors was "to have the lowest possible prices, because that's how they attract customers".

The price of gasoline has risen above 2 euros for several weeks in recent months following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil flows pass, caused by the war between the United States and Iran.

On Tuesday, according to calculations by AFP based on data provided by the government, the average price of SP95 gasoline was €1,949 per liter and €1,995 for diesel. Before the start of the war in Iran, both fuels averaged €1,72 per liter.