2 euros per liter of diesel or unleaded 95… We are already there in a few stations in the Basque Country according to the latest statements from the prix-carburants.gouv.fr site! And almost no pump offers a liter for less than 1.90 euros. In one week, the liter of diesel took 14 cents, so much so that it is in places now more expensive than unleaded. So many are tempted to go refuel in Spain, where you can save 20 to 30 cents per litre. But not when you live in the interior Basque Country. Seen from certain resorts in Soule and Basse-Navarre, the border seems too far away for the trip to be profitable.
Robbed in a weekend at cost price
In Bidache for example, not the shadow of a customer in the small station in the center which displays 2.22 euros. At the Intermarché pump, a little further, the liter of diesel subtly amounts to 1.999 euro. “Yes, I saw the price”says Florian, annoyed by typing the code of his credit card. “I don’t have much choice, so I’m going to put a little ten euros in troubleshooting.” Impossible: the machine gives him back his card. Fuel outage. “We did the gasoline at cost price this weekend”explains Patricia, one of the employees of the supermarket. “It was 1.74 euros. Everyone came to fill up. We were even cheaper than in Peyrehorade.”
In the parking lot, Maïtena and Sylvie are loading groceries. Home helpers, they are always on the road, and their mileage allowances are not enough to cover their costs. “We have a part that is taken care of, but not all of it”they say. “But in Spain, it even becomes… It’s not profitable.” As a result, they know where to find the cheapest gasoline not too far: “1.88 Saturday, at the Leclerc in Saint-Palais”.
Towards an increase of 10 cents in the week
Corn in a few days, the liter has already gone to 1.92 euros. “It’s very complicated”laments Thierry Lassalle, the boss of the supermarket. “We too are coming out of a weekend at cost price, and we were more expensive at cost price than the day before when we had a very little margin.”
It fluctuates constantly, every day we have to change the figures, and I don’t think it’s going to improve… – Thierry Lassalle, boss of the Leclerc supermarket in Aïcirits
And for good reason : in the southwestern Leclercs, 30% of the supply comes from Russia. It drives Sylvie, who does 90 km a day, to despair. Even for her, it’s not worth going to Spain. “I go there from time to time, but hey, not just to get gas. Look at the meter: 82 euros for 43 litres!”
According to the government website, the cheapest fuel is in Mauléon: 1.91 euro for diesel. But it still makes Frédéric furious. “It’s a shame! A shame!”he gets angry, gun in hand. “I have it for 85 euros. And I never go to Spain. There and back, it takes between 45 and 50 kilometers… I prefer to do in the region. But whether it’s diesel or GNR [gazole non routier], it’s the same thing: it’s at 1.33 euros today. Last week again, it was at 1 euro. 33 cents more! No, but where are we going? Not towards lower prices, in any case, on the contrary: according to the boss of the Leclerc group, fuel will increase by around 10 cents during the week in “almost all service stations in France”.