AA/Nice/Feïza Ben Mohamed
The French State has been widely mobilized since the beginning of the soaring fuel prices in connection in particular with the war in Ukraine.
With an initial discount of 18 cents per liter until the end of August then now 30 cents per liter, the French are somewhat relieved by this gesture.
But in fact, with diesel at 1.70 euros per liter and which reaches 2 euros in some service stations, the bill remains very heavy for those who cannot do without their vehicles.
Since September 1, the Total group has offered an additional reduction of 20 centimes per litre, which can be combined with the State discount.
As soon as these prices, much lower than normal and reaching in places 1.50 euros per liter of diesel, were put in place, motorists rushed to the service stations of the French oil giant.
On Monday, to the west of Nice, for example, at the group’s six distribution points, it took a great deal of patience to succeed in refueling at low cost since five stations were out of fuel, while the sixth had a particularly long queue.
“The Italians come here to help themselves thanks to this discount and that creates even more demand for us”, blows the young woman in charge of cashing a Total Access station, specifying that “as soon as the fuels are refilled, the stocks don’t last a day.
And for users, patience remains the watchword to hope to refuel at a lower cost.
For Cyril, in charge of a sports association, it is “the obstacle course to fill the tank without breaking the bank”.
“I went around all the Total stations before finding one that still had fuel,” he told Anadolu Agency, noting that “the prices remain high despite everything.”
The father points out that “the Yellow Vests crisis began because of diesel at 1.36 euros” but that today “the French are happy because some pumpers offer it at 1.55 euros”.
Describing the situation as “delusional”, he hopes that “the situation will quickly return to normal, because it weighs very heavily on finances” at a time when “everything is increasing in the hypermarkets”, including “pasta, cakes, oil, etc”.
Eloise, who accompanies him, makes the same observation. “We want to support Ukraine and align ourselves with our government’s position, but the price to pay is starting to be a little too high”.
The young educator points to “energy prices which are exploding” and wonders “if on the shelves, the price increase is legitimate”.
“I don’t understand why, instead of giving us 30 cents off, the State does not temporarily abolish fuel taxes which represent almost half of the price we pay” she wonders considering that ” the situation is serious enough to take drastic decisions”.
On the side of Total, the communication is nevertheless intended to be reassuring, in particular to sweep away fears of shortages.
Quoted by France 3, the press service of the French giant ensures that “there is no shortage of fuel because TotalEnergies has built up stocks and is currently carrying out regular imports”.
The group nevertheless recommends that users do not rush to the pump to fill up and notes a 30% increase in demand at its service stations.
“Despite the social movements, the resupply of our stations continues in the context of the price reduction operation,” says Total.
But in reality, on the interactive map that allows you to follow the availability of the group’s fuels live, few stations are not affected by the shortage of its stocks.
It is also important to note that the difficulties in supplying hydrocarbons are not only linked to the low prices practiced by the brand but are also caused by a strike movement by employees.
Faced with inflation, the staff is demanding a salary increase of 10% over the year 2022.
“Some of the 35,000 Total employees in France receive extremely low salaries and there is a need to raise them to the level of what the group generates as profits,” the CGT told Le Parisien newspaper.
For users, the strike coupled with an attractive discount are causing supply difficulties, but the coming months are likely to prove even more complicated.
The government rebate and that of Total will drop significantly with only 10 cents each per liter from the first of November.
The price at the pump will therefore inevitably explode for consumers already cornered by food and energy inflation.
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