Reductions from September 1st. The global multi-energy company TotalEnergies, under pressure from the executive in France, is stepping up its actions to relieve the portfolio of its customers and thus hopes to avoid the threat of a tax on “superprofits”, brandished by several political groups, has reported Le Figaro.
The group announced a “massive program to reduce fuel prices”, which completes its system already in place for a few months, in a press release published on Friday.
In detail, TotalEnergies will grant in all its stations in France, from September 1 to November 1, a discount of 20 cents per litre, in addition to that granted by the government. In metropolitan France, therefore, the reduction will rise to 38 cents per liter, leading to a price drop of 15 euros on a full 40 liters, for example.
Between November and December, the drop will still be in place but half as much, amounting to only 10 cents. These reductions will apply “from the first liter purchased, without limit of amount, for all petroleum fuels sold in stations”, specifies the company.
+ Protecting household wallets +
Asked regarding BFMTV, the Minister of Economy and Finance welcomed the announcement from TotalEnergies, hailing the company’s “sense of responsibility”. “Intense discussions” carried out with the energy company made it possible to convince him, explained Bruno Le Maire, who was delighted with a decision restoring purchasing power directly to households: “I prefer money a thousand times for the French to a tax for the public treasury”, he said.
This commitment takes place less than a month following a reinforcement of the discount granted by TotalEnergies, passed, at the end of June, from 10 to 12 centimes, underlines the electronic newspaper.
However, this effort, limited only to stations close to the motorways, had been considered insufficient, both by the government and by the elected members of the National Assembly, who debated at length, during the examination of the bill on the purchasing power, the advisability of introducing a tax on the profits made by the energy giants over the past few months.
If he was reluctant, the executive did not completely close the door to this track, brandishing it as a threat in order to push the companies concerned to do more to protect the portfolio of households: “We ask them to make an effort . I am thinking in particular of Total and CMA CGM. They made the first commitments. Should they do more? Certainly yes. We will do the accounts during the 2023 finance bill, ”warned the boss of Bercy, Bruno Le Maire, in an interview with Le Monde this week. This announcement by TotalEnergies is therefore not devoid of interest for the energy company, which hopes to appease the anger of opposition parliamentarians.
The company does not hide it: “With this massive price reduction program in our stations, we hope that this long-term commitment, which will be heard by our customers, will also be heard by the national representation” , commented its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, quoted in the press release.
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