Long queues have continued at French petrol stations and some pumps run dry as motorists rushed to fill up before the French government scales down its state-subsidised fuel discounts.
From 16 November, the government is to limit its rebate on the price of petrol and diesel, which has been in place since April to help drivers cope with the high costs of fuel.
France claims it has been the most generous country in Europe in helping people deal with the cost of living crisis, capping gas and electricity price increases and offering a government-sponsored fuel rebate, which has cost the state more than €7bn (£6.1bn). But ministers said the discounts for motorists had to progressively be brought to an end.
The junior minister for transport, Clément Beaune, told Europe 1 radio: “There was a large rebate … I remind you that no other European country has done that. We always said that it had to progressively end by the end of the year … The fuel rebate was a move by the taxpayer to avoid petrol becoming too expensive. We had to gradually end it because we cannot live permanently with a rebate funded by the taxpayer.”
The size of the rebate has varied since it was put in place in April. Since September, anyone filling up at a service station had been eligible for a 30 centimes rebate for each euro spent. The French energy firm TotalEnergies had also offered its own rebate of 20 centimes a euro.
But from 16 November, both the state-funded discount and the TotalEnergies discount will be reduced to 10 centimes. On 1 January, the state rebate will end completely and the government has instead promised to provide targeted aid to low-income families who have to use their car for work. But ministers have yet to spell out how that would work.
AFP reported that about 20% of petrol stations in France were running out of either petrol or diesel, rising to more than 50% in some areas such as the Puy-de-Dôme, and with large demand in the Paris area.
In France, where many people in rural and suburban areas depend on their cars, fuel prices are a sensitive political issue. In November 2018, the gilets jaunes anti-government protest movement began in reaction to a planned rise in taxes on diesel and petrol which the president, Emmanuel Macron, said would aid the country’s transition to green energy. The fuel tax rise was later abandoned.
