Nearly one in 5 service stations out of inventory in France, new support deliberate | EUROtoday

These are solely “logistical and transport issues”. Government spokesperson and Minister for Energy, Maud Bregeon, introduced on Tuesday April 7 on RMC/BFMTV that round 18% of the nation’s service stations are quickly out of a minimum of one gasoline after the Easter weekend.

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On Saturday, this determine of stations partially or utterly out of service was solely 12%, in line with the most recent figures from the Directorate General of Energy and Climate (DGEC) census.

“A few weeks of visibility”

The hydrocarbon big TotalEnergies introduced that it might prolong its cap on gasoline costs in France in April, whereas elevating the ceiling for a liter of diesel to 2.25 euros, and leaving that of gasoline at 1.99 euros per liter.

Capped costs on the French main’s stations have resulted in shortages of provide right here and there.

In Bordeaux, a TotalEnergies station solely serves bioethanol (E85), and that of the neighboring city of Talence is even closed, with dry pumps.

Olivier Gantois, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries (Ufip) reassured on RTL on Tuesday “the stations will mostly be restocked from today”, he declared.

At this stage, the president of Ufip doesn’t see a scarcity rising, guaranteeing that he has “a few weeks of visibility”.

He indicated that the rise in gasoline costs in March didn’t scale back the consumption of the French, who bought 1% extra gasoline than in March 2025.

SP95-E10 gasoline has gained 30 cents per liter for the reason that begin of the conflict within the Middle East on the finish of February and was value round 2.018 euros per liter on common on Tuesday, in line with AFP calculations. Diesel, the gasoline most utilized by the French, price 60 cents per liter and was value 2.337 euros on common.

A surge that’s felt on the wallets of many French individuals. Margot, a 21-year-old self-employed one who has “20 to 25 minutes of driving a day” within the Bordeaux area, advised AFP that she needed to “stop working” for a number of days final week, as a result of she “could not afford to pay for gasoline”.

Protests

Christelle, who travels 100 km per day to show within the Arcachon basin, thinks she is going to “beat all records” for her gasoline funds, which she often estimates “at 120 euros of gasoline per month.”

Blockages initiated by public works and landscaping corporations befell on Tuesday on the Nantes ring street to protest towards the costs of non-road diesel (GNR) and diesel, in line with the National Chamber of Public Works and Landscape Craftsmen (CNATP).

The improve in gasoline costs “increasing costs enormously”, lamented Andrea Lemasson, normal secretary of the CNATP. “The treasuries are weakened.”

And in Corsica, the island’s six predominant ports have been blocked since Tuesday morning by fishermen who’re demanding an finish to the “deadly spiral” of the rise within the worth of gasoline, already dearer on the island than on the continent.

Faced with discontent, the federal government stated it was planning a brand new support system for sure professions most affected, comparable to “caregivers”, “home helpers” and “certain farmers”, in line with Maud Bregeon.

The minister rejected any “universal aid” and rejected a worth freeze whereas the overall secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, known as on Monday for the institution of a “maximum pump price of 1.70 euros”.

If the federal government spokesperson assured that she didn’t observe “undue margins among distributors”, the Minister of the Economy, Roland Lescure, introduced on Friday that he had written to the European Commission to ask it to analyze the margins of refineries in Europe and to make sure that there have been “no abuses”.

Spain, Austria, Germany, Italy and Portugal have known as on Europe to introduce a tax on windfall earnings from vitality corporations, in response to rising gasoline costs linked to the battle within the Middle East.

AFP