The tug-of-war continues over the price of fuel, with the question of the purchasing power of the French in the background. Despite a backpedal on selling at a loss, the government is maintaining pressure on distributors by bringing them together this Tuesday in Matignon to ask them to sell “at cost” and thus reduce the bill at the pump, but its margin is narrow.
“Everyone must take their part,” insisted Elisabeth Borne, who invited refiners, distributors and professional federations to rue de Varenne at 5:30 p.m. with the aim of “creating transparency on their margins and asking for their reduction”.
An impact which risks being “fairly marginal”
Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday the abandonment of the idea of selling at a loss, rejected by all distributors, and instructed his Prime Minister to bring together representatives of the sector “this week”. However, according to the sector’s own admission, the impact of selling at cost price risks being “fairly marginal”, given that it is already practiced by brands and that large-scale distribution sells fuels with margins of “a few cents”, recalls Patrice Geoffron, professor at Paris-Dauphine University and director of the energy-climate team.
The holding of this meeting, the day after an Ecological Planning Council, once again illustrates the executive’s difficulty in reconciling the reduction of polluting emissions and the preservation of purchasing power weighed down by the surge in fossil fuel prices. On purchasing power, “ecology is the answer”, replied Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, but while affirming that “the car, (…) I love it”.
The idea of selling at a loss will therefore only have existed for a week after its announcement by the Prime Minister, received with circumspection and even reluctance, including among the majority. The government will seek to forget this setback as quickly as possible this Tuesday. “Raising the tone” with large retailers, known to be tough in negotiations, “is all the more effective if it is credible”, believes a ministerial advisor.