Opposed to the government’s announcement, the national president of the “Fuel distributors” branch of the Mobilians union, Francis Pousse, will soon have a meeting with Bruno Le Maire. He fears “gas station deserts”.
“My members, their first product of life is fuel”therefore sell at a loss as authorized by the government, “It’s really out of the question.”alert Sunday September 17 on franceinfo Francis Pousse, national president of the “Fuel distributors” branch of the Mobilians union, after Élisabeth Borne’s announcement yesterday in Le Parisien to temporarily authorize distributors to sell gasoline at a loss in order to to lower fuel prices.
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Of the 6,000 service stations in France (excluding supermarkets) represented by the unionist, 3,400 Total already have their price capping operations. “I announce to you that the [2 600] remaining will not be able to sell at a loss, (…) we have stations which make up to 50% or 60% of their gross margin with fuel”, specifies Francis Pousse. He is also worried about the competition that this will cause with large supermarkets who will be able to lower their prices.
“What is certain is that it further destabilizes the market to the disadvantage of those I represent. So I am very, very, very worried about the future of my stations.”
Francis Pousse, national president of the “Fuel distributors” branch at the Mobilians unionat franceinfo
According to him, there could be a “gap [de tarif] of 10, 20, or 30 centimes” And “obviously, consumers will go for the cheapest”with a particular impact “in rural areas” Who “are already in difficulty”. He adds : “If tomorrow everyone gets their best prices, it will be in the month that follows that we will start to have serious problems”and if it lasts a year “it’s the end of the world for many of my members”.
Francis Pousse is due to meet soon with the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, to “explain to him precisely the facts and the costs of such a measure, the financial costs, the social costs. Because once again, if we don’t have fuel in the campaign, it becomes complicated”. “It is imperative to find a method of compensation, otherwise, after medical deserts, we will have gas station deserts”he warns.