After months of almost uninterrupted rise, fuel prices in France (and the rest of the world) are finally returning to bearable levels. Last week, diesel was sold with us on average €1.79 per liter against €1.78 per liter for super unleaded. And we are starting to find fuel at less than €1.70 per liter in the cheapest stations in the country. Everyone is currently wondering if these prices will continue to fall or at least stabilize, thanks mainly to a contraction in demand in the world due to major economic uncertainties. At home in any case, all this will in theory allow the French to limit their budget at the time of the big school year.
We remind you that from 1 September, the government discount will drop from 18 cents per liter to 30 cents per liter in mainland France. If the fuel remains around €1.78 per litre, the increase in this discount will logically allow stations to display prices at more or less €1.66 per liter for unleaded 95 or diesel. And that’s not all: the TotalEnergies group will also introduce a new discount of 20 centimes per liter of fuel from September 1st in all its stations across the country. On paper, there would thus be enough to find fuel at less than €1.5 per liter by accumulating the discounts provided that the stations concerned do not take advantage of it to artificially increase their prices before the discount! Prices that would bring us back to the time of the great economic slowdown of 2020 following the periods of confinement of the coronavirus, when weak demand caused the value of a barrel of oil to plunge.
A backlash to be expected?
While some believe that the increase in the government rebate scheduled for September 1 should simply be canceled due to the recent drop in fuel prices – on the pretext that it would send the wrong message by promoting the accessibility of fossil fuels – remember that the value of a barrel of oil could rise again towards the end of the year. Knowing that the government rebate (like that of TotalEnergies) is to be reduced to 10 cents per liter from November 1st until December 31st and that nothing is currently planned for 2023, cheap fill-ups may not last long…