2023-09-18 10:24:00
HAS from the beginning of December, or even on the 1stis December, distributors will have the possibility of selling fuel at a loss, announced Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, this Monday, September 18 in the show Telematinon France 2. This measure will last six months, he said.
“It will be effective from the beginning of December, I hope on the 1stis December, since the text of the law will be examined in the Assembly at the beginning of October,” he said following the announcement on Saturday by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne of such a possibility. “With this unprecedented measure, we will have tangible results for the French without subsidizing fuel,” the latter promised. Selling at a loss has been prohibited in France since 1963 and is far from unanimous, although it has been considered on several occasions to deal with inflation.
“Engage everyone once morest inflation”
Without giving a figure on the drop at the pump so as not to “commit to a figure [qu’il] is not certain to hold”, Bruno Le Maire hopes, thanks to this measure, “to find, depending on what distributors can do, cheaper fuel everywhere in France”.
READ ALSO Selling fuel at a loss: small gas stations angry
The government wants to take this measure to combat the high price of fuel. “Overall, our method is to engage everyone, all economic players, in this fight once morest inflation. The State cannot bear the cost of inflation alone, otherwise it will widen the deficit,” he assured, calling on “everyone to do their part.”
This summer, fuel prices started to rise once more, coming close to the symbolic threshold of 2 euros per liter, in the wake of the surge in oil prices. And they might continue to rise, with production reductions in the coming months decided by producing countries.
A measure far from unanimous
The RN group (88 deputies) is once morest it, according to statements by the vice-president of the RN, Sébastien Chenu, Monday morning, on Public Senate. “It’s bullshit,” he reacted, specifying that “this measure will lead to two things: large groups filling their pockets and then independent gas stations closing.”
He also said he was once morest a vote “because we want lasting measures, we want things that last over time”. Clearly, “we want a measure to reduce taxes”, because “the problem is the margins that large groups make and these are the taxes”, he added. “It is up to the State to make an effort because energy is a basic necessity,” he insisted, believing that “Élisabeth Borne sees things like an accountant.”
Selling at a loss “can respond to a very short-term issue. […] One of the disadvantages is that there is no targeting,” reacted Marylise Léon, general secretary of the CFDT, on France Info.
It’s a “completely offbeat” measure, says Frank Rosenthal, a retail marketing expert, recommending targeting “those who drive the most”.
In a note, the Asteres firm underlines that the measure “does not seem to be able to significantly increase the purchasing power of households”, the probability that a large number of distributors will apply it being slim and their margins being already weak. The firm also underlines the risk of an increase in the prices of other products to “compensate for losses” and a feared ousting of small stations.
How many stations would participate?
If the measure is passed, the question will be to know the number of service stations which will use it, because it is difficult to imagine independent stations selling at a loss their main source of turnover, unlike the large stores which use gasoline. to attract customers to their shelves. In France, around a third of the 10,000 to 11,000 stations are managed by TotalEnergies (3,400 stations) and half have a major retail brand; the others are independent.
Francis Perrin, research director at Iris, is counting on “exceptional operations” over “a month or two” by supermarkets, depending on “geographical areas and competitive situations”, but not a general sale at a loss .
Many distributors have already sold fuel at cost price in recent months. Most pledged last week to continue these operations until the end of the year. “Gasoline is a loss leader because it is an expensive product, on which there can be differences,” explains Frank Rosenthal. Selling at a loss is “a curious way of solving the problem since the distributors have nothing to do with the high price,” he adds. “The margin is made at the level of the countries that produce and those that refine. Distributors only buy, with volumes such that they can have better prices. »
On the independent side, the measure might be followed very little. “My members live 40, 50%, or even more, from the sale of fuel, so if they sell at a loss, I give them three months,” said Francis Pousse, president of the professional union Mobilians, representing 5 800 service stations excluding supermarkets.
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