PETROL SHORTAGE. Where to find fuel? When will the shortage end? Why is Total particularly concerned? Our advice and the map to find petrol and diesel near you.
[Updated October 7, 2022 at 9:23 a.m.] Are we heading for an improvement in service stations, especially 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.
The fuel shortage is beginning to be seriously felt. Resulting from the economic situation between the discount at the pump of 20 centimes 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. In the Bouches-du-Rhône, the situation is such that the Sud Santé 13 union asks, in a letter sent Thursday, October 6 to the ARS and the regional prefect, to grant caregivers “priority and facilities for provide gasoline”, reports France 3, because the rounds of some caregivers are becoming more and more complicated. But what about the overall fuel shortage? Should we be worried about the weekend?
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. RMC also noted earlier this week that the 8 Total stations in the Strasbourg conurbation were out of stock. The cause ? The influx of border motorists, especially Germans, who come to take advantage of cheaper rates than at home. To know where to go, know that TotalEnergies has set up an interactive map, allowing you to know the fuels available in the different service stations.
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.
You can find below a map of French service stations. 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/
