Between 1980 and 2022, the number of service stations in France would have been divided by 4, going from 40,000… to 11,000! To date, there are only 5,600 distribution points, excluding supermarkets, including 4,100 independent stations. An erosion which alerts professionals, including Francis Pousse, the national president of fuel and new energy distributors at Mobilians who has put his feet in the problem, declaring in particular “It is time for the government to wake up (…) Access to fuel will become more and more restrictive.”before specifying his fears for the future in this area “With these crises, there is today a fed up in the world of gas stations. The message is that by 2030 there will be -30% fossil vehicles, no one wants to invest anymore. However, there must remain a network at least for firefighters, ambulances, the gendarmerie and so that average French people can get around.”
A real fed up
For its part, the executive – which had promised a budget of 10 million euros (which later became 8 million) for a transition plan for service stations in our country – is struggling to support the development of these professionals. A subject that has almost become taboo for the French government, in the context of the promotion of electric vehicles. “Our big fear is that there will soon be white zones for fuel distribution. Given the current difficulties, in the case of a garage sale the buyer removes the pump. In 2023, there were 120 closures, 2024 will be the same. Access to fuel will become more and more restrictive (…) Gas stations are an essential local business and we need to help them diversify their activity so that they can be profitable.” insists Mr. Pousse.
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