Roland Lescure recognizes an “unfortunate” sentence about fuel taxes

The Minister of the Economy, Roland Lescure, admitted on Friday October 30 to having uttered an “unfortunate” sentence on Wednesday October 28 about high fuel taxation in France, which he said “does not prevent him from sleeping”. “It’s an unfortunate expression that I sincerely regret having uttered,” the minister declared on franceinfo.

He “apologized if some were shocked” by these comments which had been denounced by Marine Le Pen, RN presidential candidate, triggering a controversy. Roland Lescure put the sentence in the context of “a fairly long debate on energy taxes” in the National Assembly, noting that “no one raised it in the hemicycle” at the time. The official transcript of the debate, however, notes “exclamations on the benches of the RN group”.

Mr. Lescure clarified that as he sat down again he thought: “You could probably have said the same thing in a different way,” because he realized that his sentence “could be perceived” as a disconnect with the financial concerns of the French. He assured that on the contrary “what keeps him awake” currently is to find solutions to lower the price of fuel, via the release of strategic stocks or high-roller checks. He regretted “the controversy” around this affair, wishing “that we understand that by shedding light on the sentences – sometimes unfortunate – we forget the essential” and we drag “the debate to the surface rather than in depth”.

Wednesday afternoon, during a lively discussion with deputies where fuel prices were discussed during the examination of the Finance bill for 2027, Mr. Lescure agreed that “gasoline prices are higher in France than elsewhere”. “The essential reason is that we tax more than elsewhere, for me it's not a tax that keeps me from sleeping - I know that it keeps others from sleeping - it allows us to finance a lot of infrastructure, that's very good,” he rejoiced.

Ms. Le Pen immediately followed up on this sentence: “Know, Mr. Lescure, that (these taxes) prevent millions of workers, entrepreneurs, retirees and families from sleeping and even living. Your disdain is unbearable,” she posted on