Why is there a fuel shortage in France?
As we introduced, finding a service station to fill up your car is becoming a near-impossible mission.
According to the government, more than 20% of service stations in France are experiencing supply difficulties.
Some regions, such as those in the north of France, are coping much more severely with this crisis, notably Hauts-de-France, where almost 30% of resorts in difficulty. What's more, motorists are prepared to go as far as Belgium to fill up, even if fuel is fuel is 20 centimes more expensive than in France.
To help motorists in this area, the authorities have asked to set up priority access for healthcare professionalsThese include medical transport, nurses and doctors.
But what explains this fuel shortage?
On the one hand, this is due to the success TotalEnergies offers motorists. To counter soaring fuel prices, since September 1, 2022the oil giant has introduced a r20-centime rebateon top of the government's 30 centimes extended until December 30, 2022.
A total of 50 centimes off fuel was offered to motorists, and as a result, many rushed to Total stations. This commercial gesture caused stock-outs and prompted Total to lower the curtain on its stations.
On the other hand, since September 27, 2022, many Exxonmobil and TotalEnergies employees have been on strike over pay. The unions are demanding a a 10% pay rise.
As a result, 4 of the 6 refineries operated by the TotalEnergie group are blocked, and fuel deliveries are delayed.
Is there really a fuel shortage in France?
According to government spokesman Olivier Véran, the answer is no. Indeed, lower fuel prices are increasing demand from motorists, but "there is no shortage".
No shortage, but temporary supply tensions affecting around 1 in 10 stations.
- Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) October 5, 2022
The cause: strong demand due to controlled prices, and a strike affecting some refineries.
The Government is continuously monitoring the situation with operators. pic.twitter.com/jvaUPvKppy
So how do you go about finding available service stations in France?
Now that we know the causes of this crisis, are there any solutions to overcome it?
The answer is yes. In fact, motorists can use a number of platforms to help them find and compare fuel prices at different stations, according to fuel type, commune or département. Here are just a few of the mobile applications available on Android and iPhone, such as :
- Waze, in fact according to platform director Jérome Marty, "a 33% increase in daily navigations" since September 27, 2022 and "a peak of 59% on October 3"..
- Gasoil Now
- Essence & Co
- Gaspal
Its applications can be interesting for motorists, since they are collaborative. They are regularly updated by users, as on the penurie.mon-essence.frplatform, which lists available and unavailable stations throughout France.
There are also free interactive maps that are updated daily, such as the one on the government website (fuel-prices.gouv.fr). For motorists who prefer TotalEnergies stations, TotalEnergies has also posted a map showing all its stations, not just in France, but all over the world.
Fuel shortages: a road back to electric vehicles?
With everything that's going on at the moment, this fuel "shortage" and these service station closures are perhaps opening the way a little more to electric vehicles. electric vehicles.
It's true that, at the moment, France is experiencing rising electricity prices which is worrying many (future) motorists who own electric vehicles. But there are tips to reduce your electricity consumption and be able to recharge your electric vehicle in the best possible conditions.
In addition to the difficulties of filling up with fuel, this crisis raises the question of ecology. As we all know, air pollution has major consequences on our health, since it is one of the causes of death, and also on the environment, with global warming.
To improve air and noise quality, one solution is to switch to electric mobility, using electric cars with low or even 0 CO2 emissions. As Valérie Masson-Delmotte, paleoclimatologist and co-chair of IPCC Working Group 1 : "an electric car is 25 times less polluting than a combustion-powered car"
In conclusion
But how long will this fuel shortage last? For the moment, the date is still unknown, but Olivia Grégoire, Minister for Small and Medium-sized Enterprisesstresses "that we'll have to import a little more oil, notably from Belgium". and "to draw on the strategic stock to cover those stations that have no fuel today".. The latter also points out that this situation will only last a few days.
