French petrol stations fined by fraud squad as prices continue to rise

The spot checks began on Monday and on Tuesday morning Trade Minister Serge Papin said that about 6 percent of the filling stations inspected so far would face sanctions.

Meanwhile, the French government spokesperson, Maud Brégeon, reported “about 16 percent irregularities, some of which were obviously punished with fines,” when questioned on French media France 2.

Some stations “hide their real prices,” the trade minister explained on TF1, with prices listed on their website “at €1.95 for diesel, for example, but when you arrive at the station it’s €2.10, which is not acceptable.”

"The war in the Middle East must not become a pretext for abusive prices at the pump," Lecornu said on Sunday, announcing that 500 spot checks would be made at fuel stations across France between Monday and Wednesday.

The 500 checks are equivalent to those that the fraud squad usually carries out over three months, he added.

The American and Israeli strikes on Iran, and Iran's retaliation around the Gulf, have had the effect of closing the Hormuz Straight, through which around 20 percent of the world's oil and liquified natural gas supplies pass, which has had the effect of sending oil prices shooting to record highs.

And fuel providers around Europe are already putting up their prices in anticipation.

READ ALSO: MAP: How to find the cheapest petrol and diesel in France✎

French government figures show that diesel prices surpassed the symbolic €2-per-litre mark nationwide on Monday. Diesel, the most widely used road fuel in France, has risen by about 28 cents per litre, roughly a 16 percent increase, since the eve of the first Israeli-American strikes on Iran on February 27th.

However the average figure hides wide regional variations, with drivers reporting that petrol was up 20 cents more expensive in some areas.

Brégeon has announced that ministers will meet with fuel company bosses "at the end of the week" to discuss the next steps.

She added: "We will not hesitate to point the finger at those who profit from the situation, because that is absolutely intolerable.

"We must show solidarity and good ethics."

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent gas and electricity prices soaring in 2022, the French government paid out a 'chèque energie' to thousands of households.

On Tuesday, the Parti Socialiste (PS) put forward several proposals to counter the rise in fuel prices, including an energy voucher for “the most vulnerable.”