With fuel prices an increasingly prominent issue ahead of next year's presidential election, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s government is due to unveil new support measures on Tuesday.
Ahead of the announcement, the government also said it would propose a “golden rule” in the 2027 budget to ensure the state does not profit from higher fuel prices through additional VAT revenue.
The prime minister’s office said that the state had not benefitted financially from the surge in prices. Since the crisis began in February, fuel tax revenues were €407 million lower than during the same period last year, largely because motorists have reduced their consumption.
The government has been publishing fuel tax figures every 10 days, in an effort to demonstrate that higher pump prices are not being used to boost state revenues.
Summer-grade diesel
In a move aimed at easing pressure on supplies linked to the situation in the Middle East, the government has temporarily authorised petrol stations to continue selling summer-grade diesel until 15 November.
Normally, retailers must switch to winter diesel from 1 November. The cold-weather fuel is designed to remain usable at temperatures as low as -15C, compared with 0C for the summer-grade diesel.
The fuel industry says the measure should also make refinery operations easier, because winter-grade diesel is more complicated to produce.
Retailers using the exemption will, however, have to warn customers of potential problems in areas vulnerable to early frost, particularly mountainous regions.
Diesel was selling for an average of around €2.41 per litre in France on Monday, while SP98 petrol stood at €2.28 and SP95 at €2.22, according to analysis by French news agency AFP.
Farmers voice anger
The pressure on the government was underlined on Monday evening when around 200 farmers gathered in Rodez, southern France, to protest against rising fuel costs.
The demonstration, organised by the Coordination rurale farming union, saw protesters dump tyres outside a public finance centre along with several speed cameras that had been removed from roads in the Aveyron region.
Regional union leader Eloi Nespoulous also criticised delays in subsidies for non-road diesel used by farmers, saying only around 10 percent of applicants had received the assistance.
The protest provided an early indication of the discontent the government is seeking to contain, with the measures announced later on Tuesday likely to come under scrutiny from motorists, farmers and other fuel-dependent sectors.
(with newswires)
