The announcement was made by the CEO of TotalEnergies in the columns of Le Parisien. While his group announced this Wednesday morning record profits in 2022, Patrick Pouyanné explains that he is considering new measures in favor of the purchasing power of motorists.
At the end of the Council of Ministers, the government spokesman, Olivier Véran, reacted by assuring that the government was in favor of a new rebate at the pump. “I heard Total’s desire to set up a rebate and we welcome it,” he said during the report of the Council of Ministers. “We hope that every effort can be made to reduce the cost of fuel at the pump for the French. The Minister also said that he understood that the amount of profits announced by TotalEnergies “could be shocking”, but assured that these 19 billion euros in profits “are not made in France, far from it”.
TotalEnergies has already granted rebates to French consumers between September and December 2022 following the surge in oil prices. The average price of diesel is currently approaching €2 in France, although it has seen a slight drop in recent days. With an average close to €1.9/L, its price is similar to that of the SP-95 E10.
Purchasing power measures rather than a tax on profits
“If the liter of diesel exceeds two euros, TotalEnergies could carry out new targeted rebate actions at the pump”, explained Patrick Pouyanné. “Rather than starting a debate around an exceptional tax on profits, we prefer to take purchasing power measures that the French feel directly. »
In Le Parisien, Patrick Pouyanné further declares that “we returned 550 million euros to French motorists with the various discounts at the pump for several weeks. We haven’t done it anywhere else.” Additional tensions have loomed over the supply of diesel worldwide since the entry into force on Sunday of a second embargo against Russian diesel.