Advertisement

French supermarkets cut cost of petrol to appease angry motorists

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
French supermarkets cut cost of petrol to appease angry motorists
Photo: AFP

With motorists in France launching a protest campaign against high fuel taxes, two supermarkets giants have tried to ease the burden on drivers' wallets by cutting the price of petrol and diesel.

Advertisement

The supermarkets E.Leclerc and Carrefour announced on Monday that they would sell petrol and diesel at the cost price - in other words they won't add their own margins to the fuel price.

"In a context of drastic increase in fuel prices and to be faithful to its fight to protect the spending power of the French, E.Leclerc has decided to extend its supply of fuel at cost price "until November 30th 2018" read a statement from the group.

"It's the consumers who drive growth and today this discontent is legitimate," Michel-Édouard Leclerc told France Info radio.
 
"It's important commercially to satisfy our customers, but it's also important to send a signal to the public authorities."
 
Fuel stations at E.Leclerc supermarkets were selling petrol for €1.45 per litre on Monday, slightly below the prices at other garages which have passed €1.60 per litre.
 
Rival supermarket giant Carrefour has also launched a similar initiative until November 17th that has been dubbed "fuel days".
 
French motorists are threatening a day of protest on November 17th as the movement that has been dubbed the "yellow vests" gathers momentum.
 
 
The name "yellow vests" comes from the high-visibility jackets that motorists have to carry in their cars. In recent days drivers have taken to displaying them on their dashboards to show their anger at the rising cost of fuel.
 
President Emmanuel Macron and his government however insist they are right to raise taxes on fuel in January 2019.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also