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Which parts of France have the cheapest fuel prices?

The Local France
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Which parts of France have the cheapest fuel prices?
A driver prepares to fill his vehicle with gasoline in Montpellier (Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP)

Average fuel prices continue to spike in France, but you'll pay a lot more in certain regions rather than others.

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Fuel prices in France are on the rise again - almost reaching €2 per litre on average - after several weeks of decline.

According to France's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, a litre of diesel, which is the most sold fuel in France, is now worth an average of €1.9438. This marks a €0.06 increase from last week, and the highest price for fuel in France since March 25th, when the price of fuel exceeded €2 per litre on average.

After the rise in fuel prices in March, the French government introduced a €0.15 to €0.18 per litre fuel discount, and prices began to fall again.

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Boursorama reports that as of today, the average price for a litre of super SP 95 has reached €1.86 (an increase of €0.635 cents) and a litre of SP 95-E10 has reached €1.82 (an increase of €0.06).

Where is fuel cheapest and most expensive in France?

Fuel prices are highest in the Ile-de-France region and Corsica, specifically in the Hauts-de-Seine département and in Paris proper. For Corsica, the region's geographic position as an island is mostly to blame for its high fuel prices. Lozère, a departement in France's southern Occitanie region also has high average fuel prices, with the price for diesel specifically averaging around €2.05 per litre. 

If you cut France diagonally, you will start to see sharper differences in the price of fuel. Fuel prices are generally lowest in western France, as the region is not home to as many autoroutes (motorways, freeways), where fuel tends to be most expensive.

Brittany in the the north-west and the départements along the west coast also benefit from a higher volume of service stations, with about 700 more than the regions in the south and south east. For the southern, eastern part of the diagonal, the price of fuel is typically higher, as there are more autoroutes and more rural départements (less service stations overall). 

The current cheapest service station in France is actually located in the Loire-Atlantique département, at the Leclerc in the city of Guérande. There, the fuel is priced at €1.73 per litre of SP95-E10 and €1.83 per litre of diesel, which is respectively €0.09 and €0.11 less than the current national average.

If you are looking for where to find the most affordable fuel stations in France, Capital.fr has an interactive map where you can click on your département to see the cheapest service station near you. Typically, the rule of thumb is that autoroutes are most expensive, but heading for supermarkets and automated petrol stations might save you a few euros

READ MORE: MAP: How to avoid paying too much for fuel when you’re driving in France

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The French government's efforts to provide fuel discounts, which came into effect on April 1st and will last for four months, have been significantly offset by the rise in inflation, according to French daily Le Parisien.

Fuel prices had been on the rise prior to the start of the war in Ukraine, as a result of the post-pandemic global economy. A large reason as to why they are currently spiking is likely due to the price of oil itself, which is rising.

Currently, the price is $110 per barrel, which energy specialist Jean-Pierre Favennec explained to Europe 1 as also an impact of inflation, as the increase in prices at the pump "increases the costs of fuel distribution."

Another explanation, however, is market panic after calls for a European embargo on Russian oil.

 

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owen.cowles_448011 2022/05/14 14:32
https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/

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