The liter of 95 unleaded gasoline or diesel will be capped at 1.99 euros this year in the 3,400 TotalEnergies service stations in France, its CEO announced on Wednesday, the day after President Emmanuel Macron’s request to make a ” gesture “. “The measure we are announcing is that in all TotalEnergies stations in 2023, diesel and gasoline will not exceed 1 euro 99”, declared Patrick Pouyanné on TF1.
The measure – which excludes high-end Excellium diesel and unleaded 98 products – will be implemented “Saturday on the motorways” and from March 1 in all the stations of the group, which concentrates around a third of the 10,000 French stations, he said on Twitter.
A gesture after the end of discounts at the pump
The company, which made 20.5 billion euros in profits in 2022, had been under pressure from Emmanuel Macron for twenty-four hours to make a “gesture” in this period of high inflation, caused in particular by the invasion. Russian in Ukraine. “I hope that the dialogue can be finalized between the ministry and the companies concerned, as was done last year on fuels with rebates at the pump which had been made by companies like Total”, declared President Macron. , Tuesday, from the Rungis market.
From September to December 2022, TotalEnergies had granted discounts at the pump of 20 then 10 cents in its stations, for a total cost of 550 million euros. The principle was different from the cap announced on Wednesday, because the rebate applied regardless of the price at the pump. This was on top of a state-funded rebate, which ended on December 31 and which the government was unwilling to extend in the name of fiscal responsibility.
Prices at the pump in France remain for the moment well below the symbolic bar of 2 euros. The European embargo on Russian diesel, in force since the beginning of February, could however make diesel more expensive in the future.