France (Lemerre): We are experiencing an oil shock similar to 1973

LAST UPDATE: 12.09

The current energy crisis, characterized by a spike in prices, is “comparable in intensity, in brutality, to the oil shock of 1973,” French Economy Minister Bruno Lemerre said today.

Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, following Western sanctions targeting Moscow: oil is currently hovering above $ 120, not far from its historic high. of the record, while gas has reached unprecedented levels.

Lemmer, who made the remarks at the start of a conference on energy independence, said, however, that a second plan of mass state support in the country, following the implementation of the Covid-19 crisis, “would simply fuel the increase.” of prices “.

“It would be like throwing gasoline on the fire,” he said. “In 1973, this response caused the inflation shock you know, led the central banks to raise interest rates en masse, which killed growth.”

“This has a name, stagnant inflation, this is exactly what we do not want to experience again in 2022,” he said at the start of a conference of politicians, businessmen, energy experts and economists in Paris.

Europe is heavily dependent on Russian energy and is trying to find a solution in the coming months.

“The right answer we know is absolute independence,” Lemmer said.

In the face of the Ukraine conflict, Washington decided yesterday, Tuesday, to ban imports of Russian hydrocarbons, and the United Kingdom announced the end of Russian energy imports by the end of 2022.

The European Union is currently refusing to impose an embargo on Russian imports, which provide 40% of its gas needs and 30% of its oil needs.

Source: AMPE