“20 euros less on the tank”
Thierry, an agent in charge of green spaces in Chasseneuil, is enjoying this golden interlude at the La Rochefoucauld petrol station. At the Leclerc petrol station (the major retailer that dominates nearly 60% of petrol stations in France), he fills up his 1996 Clio. The faded red of his car is matched only by its reasonable consumption. “It doesn’t consume at all,” says this civil servant who doesn’t have “a crazy salary.” “On the main road, it does 4 liters per 100 at the most.” The man who says he “drives little” therefore has a monthly budget of 40 euros for petrol. “That’s a good five to six euros less than a year ago,” he savors cautiously: “because yes, it’s going down, but honestly, it’s still too expensive. We’re taxed, taxed, taxed everywhere,” the Charentais gets carried away.
“We are passing on the reduction to our customers.”
In Saint-Yrieix, at the pump, Julien mentions, for his part, “a good 20 euros less on the tank” compared to a year ago. Owner of a Ford Focus diesel, it was with cans that he came that day. “To fill them up for the lawnmower, you have to take advantage while it’s low.”
In Gond-Pontouvre, a gas station attendant notes that “people are happy about the drop, but it’s the variations from one day to the next that they have trouble understanding.” An opinion shared by Jean-Louis Grimaud, owner of the station of the same name as well as the Coccinelle Express in Nersac. Premium diesel is listed there at 1,679 euros. “As soon as we buy cheaper, we pass the drop on to our customers,” says the shopkeeper, who believes he knows “that it should drop by another 3 to 4 cents in the coming weeks.” Adding that “fuel prices are very volatile, it can very well go up 30% in a week.”
At the Avia station in Gond-Pontouvre, Dominique Allard is the head of the Picotty Services subsidiary, which in Charente offers services and distribution of petroleum products to businesses and individuals. For him, the drop in petrol prices at the pump has not caused demand to surge. “We have more of a clientele of traders who come to us for services, such as end-of-month invoicing.”
Rush on domestic fuel oil
On the other hand, he sees individuals “in a clear increase in demand for domestic fuel”, the price of which has dropped by 15 to 20 cents per litre. The people of Charente are therefore taking advantage of this to fill up their tanks for the winter. An anticipation that this professional fully appreciates: “what we are doing now, we will not do this winter.”
For Thierry, a passionate biker who owns several bikes, going to the pump is an unmissable ritual. “I filled up with SP95 for 16 euros on April 10,” says this user, scrolling through a history on Drivo, an application that allows him to list the price of a fill-up. And at the end, it even generates “a cheese with all the expense items for the bike.” The fuel portion is notably smaller than ever.
Your testimonies
Chloé, a student from Charente. “I drive 95 unleaded with my little C1. For me, the fuel budget is a pretty huge item since I study in Tours. I make a return trip every month to train in aesthetics. Today, I put 25 euros in cash for fuel. The price of petrol is more expensive in Tours so I take the opportunity to fill up when I get home. I would say that we are about ten cents lower in Charente. Of course I have a small model but it is petrol and it consumes. In alternation, I earn a salary of a little over 700 euros per month and I spend 150 euros to 200 euros per month on fuel costs. It is monumental, so it is better when prices go down.”
Florence: “I have a diesel budget of 20 euros every two weeks. I have a Toyota Yaris which doesn’t consume excessively and I try to reduce my trips but some are obligatory like when I go to the physiotherapist. I live in Saint-Laurent de Ceris and in a rural area, I need my car. Diesel is 1.535 euros today and it’s much better for the budget. Everything is expensive, we can’t manage it anymore. It’s a breath of fresh air for us who have small pensions. But will it last? I’m not sure.”
Huguette: “I am retired and I have a fairly limited budget. I drive a Clio petrol, SP95. Of course I have noticed the drop in prices since the end of August. Right now, we are at 1.622 euros per litre. It has rarely been so low, we have seen prices down to 1.90 euros here. I do not calculate to the nearest cent but I am particularly attentive to the price of fuel. As soon as it is low, I come to fill up. And I make sure to drive quietly. Everything is very expensive, the trolley, it is not going down. They say it is going down, but I do not see anything!”
