In the midst of a rise in oil prices, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, on Thursday asked the large industrial group specializing in energy TotalEnergies to extend its price cap at the pump by 1.99 euros “beyond December 31”, on France infoThursday, September 7.
“TotalEnergies is the only major French oil company we have left, it must be an asset for all motorists”insisted the Mayor, before expressing his ” trust “ to the boss of the energy company, Patrick Pouyanné, “so that he takes into consideration the difficulties of our compatriots”.
A meeting with the energy company took place on Wednesday at the Ministry of Energy Transition to “to take stock of the price of fuel and discuss an extension of the cap at 1.99 euros beyond the 1er January 2024 »assured the entourage of the minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Of “new exchanges” are scheduled for Thursday and in the coming days with TotalEnergies “and other industry representatives”, said this source to AFP. The government, on the other hand, rules out any new generalized rebate on fuel prices, after having already resorted to this solution in 2022. Bruno Le Maire sees this as a “triple aberration: ecological, budgetary and diplomatic”.
“Two countries, Saudi Arabia and Russia, have decided to reduce their production. This obviously has an impact on the price., by restricting global supply, he acknowledged. Under these conditions, a new government rebate would amount, according to him, to “paying for the oil diplomacy of Mr. Putin and Saudi Arabia”.
The minister refused to engage in “apothecary accounts” with the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, who asked for a discount of 15 to 20 cents ” for everyone “ on a liter of gasoline and accused the government of exaggeratedly inflating the cost of such a measure. “If we give a 20 cent discount on fuel prices for a year, I confirm, it costs 12 billion euros”replied the Minister.