PETROL SHORTAGE. Is the end of the fuel shortage coming soon? Why is there no more gasoline at Total? We take stock of the latest news and the map to find gasoline and diesel near you.
[Updated October 8, 2022 at 1:39 p.m.] The government is trying to reassure. While the French fear fuel shortages and, on Friday, one in five service stations had supply difficulties, members of the executive are increasing their outings in the media to explain to motorists the correct behavior to adopt. This is particularly the case of the Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Béchu, interviewed by Franceinfo: “There is a subject, it is not to end up with a movement of panic which means that motorists tell themselves that since there will be a shortage, they rush to the stations when they are open”, he explained, Saturday, October 8.
The day before, Emmanuel Macron had already declared during a press conference from Prague, in the Czech Republic: “I really want to have a message here first to tell you that the government is fully mobilized, but also to call on the calm”, urging the French not to panic. Emmanuel Macron recalled that “strike movements, linked to wage demands in the Esso group and then in the Total group”, “led to ruptures in certain stations” and to “panic movements […] this which generally accelerates the same effect”. Affirming that “each of the groups […] is in the process of finalizing salary negotiations so that its employees can return to work as quickly as possible”, he also called “each and everyone to responsibility”.
Are we heading towards an improvement in service stations, particularly at Total? If we rely on the latest statements communicated by the government, this lull is far from being visible yet. While Olivier Véran had mentioned on Wednesday October 5 the percentage of 10% of stations affected by a shortage of one or more fuels, 30% in the Hauts de France region, Olivia Grégoire, Minister in charge of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Trade, mentioned Friday October 7 that of 15% of the stations in difficulty of supply.
To deal with these difficulties, measures have been announced, including the authorization to circulate tanker trucks this Sunday, October 9. “We are in the process of improving the situation, it will take two or three days a priori. On the basis of what the tankers can repatriate from Belgium and from Rouen, and to facilitate things we are releasing part of our stocks strategic”, had already assured Thursday evening on BFMTV the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Resulting from the economic situation between the discount at the pump of 20 cents per liter in TotalEnergies service stations and a strike movement within the company to demand a wage increase which is entering its second week, the fuel shortage has bogged down in places.
Gradually, the situation became tense in several regions. In Ile de France or the Bouches du Rhône quickly affected at the approach of last weekend, was added the Hauts-de-France, particularly in Nord-Pas de Calais. The giant’s communication assures “that there is no shortage of fuel, because TotalEnergies has built up stocks and is currently importing regularly”. The group also explains that since the beginning of September, service stations have experienced “a significant influx within [their] network of stations (about 30%)”. There remains one final solution, already adopted by many motorists in recent days: turn to competitors and other fuel suppliers, even if it means paying more.
Several solutions exist to find out where to refuel and which stations are out of stock. First of all, the Mon Essence application offers a statement based on feedback from users who report dry stations. The project is 100% collaborative.
You can also find a map of French service stations below. This is the “instant feed” of fuel prices in France, provided by the Ministry of the Economy and available here on the official website: https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/
You will find above a list published based on feedback from users of the app and the Mon Essence.fr website.
A map published based on feedback from users of the Mon Essence.fr app and website and centered on Marseille is available above.
A map published based on feedback from users of the Mon Essence.fr app and website and centered on Lyon is available above.
