PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron has ordered every party leader and declared presidential candidate in France to report for a mandatory overnight shift at a designated petrol station, where they will personally inspect each fuel pump and report the price aloud to a waiting clerk every hour until the crisis ends.
The Élysée meeting, originally scheduled to discuss international conflicts and their consequences for daily French life, concluded with the President announcing that the discussion would now take place at the pumps. «Each leader will be assigned a station, a clipboard, and a flashlight,» a presidential aide said. «They will verify that the numbers on the sign match the numbers on the machine. This is how we restore confidence.»
By midnight, convoys of black sedans were seen pulling into service stations from Lille to Marseille. Party chiefs, some still in suits, were handed reflective vests and instructed to walk the forecourt in pairs, noting any discrepancy between the posted price and the price at the nozzle. Candidates were told to keep their phones on speaker so the Élysée could hear the numbers in real time.
The government has requisitioned folding chairs, thermoses, and portable floodlights for what officials are calling «the pump vigil.» A second wave of leaders is expected at dawn, when they will be required to personally apologize to each motorist who pulls in before 7 a.m.