–Analysis–
PARIS — A new profession has appeared recently. It’s a job with no future, but its mere mention has triggered a new government uproar in France — from all sides of the political spectrum. On the right, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire considered the job’s mere mention “regrettable”. The Trade Alliance protested. On the left, Christophe Béchu, the minister of ecology, “has taken responsibility.” The Greens are applauding.
Mini-storm or major debate? The job in question is “un-seller.” It has appeared in a series of short videos created by the advertising company Havas for the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME).
In a store or online, a clean young man, mischievous eye, beard and mustache, gently advises customers not to buy a polo shirt, a sander, a washing machine, or a new cell phone. And surprised customers follow his advice.
In these times of economic uncertainty, it would be a catastrophe if the French were to listen to the siren calls of the devil and suddenly switch to sobriety. Since last year’s price hikes, they’re already feeling the pinch. Reluctant to spend, they are saving nearly 20% of their income, a third more than before the COVID pandemic.
Consumption as economy drive
For decades, consumption has accounted for half of France’s growth. And today, it seems to be just about the only solid engine of activity. Housing investment have been ravaged by the sharp rise in interest rates. Business investment is undermined by weak order books.
Exports are struggling to make headway in a slowing and increasingly fragmented world. And there is no longer any question of boosting public spending after three years of wide-open floodgates — “whatever it takes”.
Individuals are therefore the only ones who can really sustain demand, and therefore production. Especially as they are far from having deflated the cushion of savings they accumulated during the lockdowns, unlike the Americans, for example.
Short term vs long term
In the short term, Bruno Le Maire is right: it would be perilous to take consumption down a step. Business activity would be even more sluggish, there would be less money in the state coffers. Just at a time when many areas of public spending (health, defense, education, etc.) need to be increased, unemployment would soar again, and already fragile companies, such as those in the textile industry, would go under in droves.
In the long term, Christophe Béchu is right. If we really want to reduce our carbon emissions, we obviously need to limit certain purchases, sometimes switch from owning to renting or borrowing, repair more, and extend the lifespan of many products.
Difficult transformation
But the ADEME commercial also reveals the difficulty of this immense transformation.
Let’s start with the purchase of a reconditioned cell phone. This is undoubtedly the easiest change to make. But you still need to be sure of the quality of the reconditioning, and the absence of any hidden malfunctioning that might have prompted the owner to resell it.
Then there’s the polo shirt. There are excellent reasons for not buying a new one. It’s made by a textile industry that consumes a lot of natural resources (water to grow cotton, energy to process and produce it, etc.) in often abhorrent social conditions. It can also continue to be worn even when it’s stained or worn out (eco-conscious MEP Pierre Larrouturou posted a photo of one of his shirts with a worn collar on social network X). And sometimes closets are overflowing.
But clothing stores are an essential part of the commercial fabric of cities. They employ thousands of men and women, often with few qualifications, who will not easily find work elsewhere if they close. This represents a major social risk.
Often expensive to rent
Next, the sander. The salesman kindly suggests borrowing or renting. But not everyone has a rental firm or a “tool library” close to home. When you’re far from a city, you have to travel dozens of kilometers to find one. What’s more, rental is often expensive.
Finally, the washing machine. The salesman recommends that his “client” have her washing machine repaired rather than buy a new one. It’s a better solution, of course. But the machine has to be easy to repair, the repairer has to be up to the job, he has to be able to come quickly, he has to have the parts, and his bill doesn’t have to be excessive. And the point is that he shouldn’t have to come back in fifteen days because the old machine cannot take it anymore.
Cultural challenge
Giving up, recycling, repairing, renting instead of buying… All of this is desirable for a reason other than preserving the planet’s resources: strengthening national sovereignty, at a time when France has a massive trade deficit and may struggle to obtain supplies in a world where more and more countries are restricting their exports.
To get there, we’ll need to move from one horizon to another, from the short term to the long term. The challenge is not only economic, social and political, it is also, and above all, cultural. As Béchu said when presenting the ADEME campaign, we’ll need to “build a different collective imagination”.
This will take time, but we need to move fast. It’s not too late to start.
