practical
Why are fuel prices so different across France?
Prices can differ by more than 25 cents per litre
Published
Drivers in France are facing record fuel prices, with the national average for diesel reaching €2.397 per litre on September 19. But prices can vary significantly between service stations.
TotalEnergies, for example, is maintaining a €2.25 cap on diesel, almost 15 cents below the national average.
By comparison, the government’s fuel-price database showed diesel at €2.502 per litre at a Carrefour Market station in Bonneville, Haute-Savoie. This was 25.2 cents more per litre than the €2.25 price capped by TotalEnergies.
The difference means that a driver filling a 50-litre tank could pay more than €12 extra at a station charging €2.50 per litre compared with one selling diesel at €2.25.
Why can prices vary so much?
One of the main reasons is how and when stations buy their fuel.
TotalEnergies is an integrated energy company with oil production, refining and a large network of service stations. That gives it more control over its supply chain and allows it to absorb some of the cost of its price cap across the wider group.
For smaller operators, the price they pay for a delivery can have a direct impact on the price at the pump.
“When we don't buy too expensively, we can keep the price down. When we buy it expensively and, for example, the price falls the next day, we have to maintain our margin,” Anthony Evin, who runs an independent station, told France Info.
Supermarket groups face a similar issue. They are major fuel retailers and often keep margins low to attract customers to their stores, but they still have to buy fuel on the wholesale market. If their purchase costs are higher, they may be unable to match TotalEnergies’ capped prices.
This is the reason that TotalEnergies’s price cap of €1.99 per litre for petrol and €2.25 for diesel at its stations in mainland France has attracted criticism from independent stations and supermarket groups.
The federation representing independent service stations, FF3C, has even complained to France’s Competition Authority, alleging a distortion of competition.
TotalEnergies on its side says the price cap is a voluntary measure that comes at a significant cost to the company. Its chief executive, Patrick Pouyanné, has put the cost at between €250million and €300million according to AFP.
