Spontaneously, nothing will improve purchasing power

It is well known that Europeans (especially the French) are calling for an improvement to their purchasing power. These demands are understandable. Spontaneously, however, nothing is going to lead to any improvement, given: The permanent rise in commodity prices (after COVID, due to the war in Ukraine and the energy transition); Companies’ determination to preserve their profit margins, that is to not fully index wages to prices; The desire to shorten value chains and to be less dependent on China; The lack of fiscal space to increase purchasing power through public transfer payments. The strong demands for increased purchasing power will be difficult to satisfy.