French president Emmanuel Macron issued an ominous speech yesterday, warning that countries like France may be witnessing the “end of abundance” amid various ongoing global crises.
The speech was made at the first cabinet meeting back after the parliament’s summer break.
“I believe that we are in the process of living through a tipping point or great upheaval,” said Macron.
“…We are living the end of what could have seemed an era of abundance…the end of the abundance of products and technologies that seemed always available…the end of the abundance of land and materials including water,” he said.
The comments come amid the ongoing energy and inflation crises, which have taken a significant financial toll on French households.
He said that many felt the country had experienced “a series of crises, each more serious than the last.”
This presumably refers to the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent supply chain issues, followed by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on European energy and fertiliser supplies, inflation and the drought which gripped the country during the summer.
“Freedom has a cost,” Macron added.
“The battles we have to fight … will only be won through our efforts.”
A spokesperson for the government, Olivier Véran, said that a cap which had been placed on energy prices to keep households’ heads above water financially could not continue “indefinitely,” and is set to expire at the end of the year.
The government is reportedly working on an “energy restraint plan,” which would call on all citizens to reduce their energy consumption to mitigate supply issues.