Advertisement

French PM says ‘go on holiday with confidence’ as fuel shortage eases

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
French PM says ‘go on holiday with confidence’ as fuel shortage eases
(Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP)

Anyone with plans for a French holiday can and should go ahead as normal, despite recent issues at the fuel pumps, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has said.

Advertisement

Borne insisted that “the French can leave with confidence" for their autumn holidays when the schools break up on Friday, with an estimated 90 percent of service stations on the autoroute expected to operate as normal, according to motorway operator Vinci.

Advertisement

READ ALSO What you need to know about driving in France this autumn

"I'm not going to tell you that the situation will be 100 percent settled for holiday departures, but the French can leave [with confidence]," she told France’s Libération newspaper. 

"The situation is in clear improvement on the beginning of the week," she said.

French schools start their two-week holiday on Friday, October 22nd while France is also a popular autumn destination for UK tourists. Many UK schools also have their holidays next week.

After three weeks of blockades, strikes at sites owned by French oil giant TotalEnergies eased this week - although uncertainty remains over fuel supply as the country heads into the autumn holiday break, with strikes at the the Gonfreville refinery (Seine-Maritime) and at the Feyzin depot (Rhône) set to continue until October 27th.

READ ALSO French fuel shortages ease as refinery workers call off some strikes

However, on Thursday, 16.9 percent of fuel stations across the country still faced supply shortages for one or more types of fuel, down from 20.3 percent on Wednesday.

But the slow return to normal remains uneven, with 29 percent of fuel stations in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and a quarter of those in  Île-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes still reporting supply problems.

https://www.thelocal.fr/20221010/map-how-to-find-petrol-or-diesel-during-frances-fuel-shortages/

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