After the failure of its plan to authorize the sale of fuel at a loss, the government wants to encourage distributors to market at cost price to reduce the bill for the French at the pump. While the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, welcomes distributors, refiners, and professional federations on Tuesday September 26 at 5:30 p.m. in Matignon to “ensure the moderation of margins”, Carrefour and E. Leclerc have taken the lead and announced that they will sell their fuels at cost price.
Shortly before, during the government questions session at the National Assembly, Ms. Borne clarified that she was waiting “an exceptional mobilization that meets the challenge”. It intends to pass on to distributors “simple messages: lower prices, make more transparency on margins, and help French people find the best prices near them”.
Previously, the Prime Minister had threatened in front of the majority in the Assembly to “legislate” on the matter, without giving further details.
The 750 hypermarket service stations concerned
“From September 29, the 750 service stations of E.Leclerc hypermarkets will sell gasoline daily at “cost price””, has already announced Michel-Edouard Leclerc on X (formerly Twitter).
Crossroads then made a similar announcement for all its supermarkets: “We are committed to selling fuel without margin, every day, from this Friday until the end of the year. »
Evoking “low margins, 2 cents on average per liter”the boss of Système U, Dominique Schelcher, confirmed on BFM-TV-RMC that he would proceed by “operations” : “It can’t be permanent cost price. »
The impact of selling at cost price is likely to be “fairly marginal”because it is already practiced by brands and large retailers sell fuels with margins of “a few cents”far from canceling the increase in recent months, recalls Patrice Geoffron, professor at Paris-Dauphine University and director of the energy-climate team at Agence France-Presse.
The meeting planned in Matignon, 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. While affirming: ” The car, (…) I love it. »
The idea of selling fuel at a loss will therefore only have existed for a week after its announcement by the Prime Minister, which was received with reluctance even among the majority. Anxious to forget this setback as quickly as possible, the government hopes for a quick result. Beyond the sale at cost price, Mr. Macron announced the renewal in 2024 of “worker fuel allowance”. The measure, with a budget of around 500 million euros, has not convinced the opposition, who denounce “check policy” and are demanding tax cuts in unison.