While waiting for a national fuel check which is still in draft form, you are forced to deal with ever higher gasoline and diesel prices. But a few operations in supermarkets or the use of certain applications can already help you pay less.
Asking distributors to cut their margins: for the moment, this is the government’s response to the soaring gasoline and diesel prices. Michel-Édouard Leclerc had quickly reacted to this request by indicating that he was already earning only one or two euro cents per liter. For him, a reduction in taxes, which represent nearly 60% of the amount paid by motorists, would have been more effective otherwise.
Here he joins the association 40 million motorists, which has launched a petition on its website in an attempt to put pressure on the political powers. But the boss of the famous supermarket chain all the same ended up agreeing to carry out an operation of sale of fuel at cost price until October 30 by offering himself a nice communication in passing. A nice sleight of hand when the recent Climate Law provides precisely for banning advertising on the sale of fossil fuels!
Casino and Carrefour follow E.Leclerc
Some of Leclerc’s competitors responded immediately. This is the case with Carrefour, which adopts a slightly different strategy. For every full 25 liters of fuel minimum, the brand offers a voucher of 5 € valid in its stores or an equivalent discount on the loyalty card. A more generous promotion than that of its rival in the end, but which in return involves checking out and buying other products. The Casino group has it both ways. In a hundred supermarkets and around thirty hypermarkets, it offers gasoline or diesel at cost price from Thursday to Sunday, as it has been doing since August 6. But 32 hypermarkets prefer to deliver, from Thursday to Saturday, a voucher the amount of which corresponds to the difference between the price paid per liter and one euro. For each liter of diesel at 1.53 €, for example, you will receive 53 euro cents, or no less than 26.50 € in total if you put 50 liters. On the other hand, in these establishments, the fuel will not be sold at cost price.
TO READ. Record price for diesel, the government reacts
A fuel check under study
Rather than a reduction in taxes which would cost it extremely dearly, the Government itself seems to be moving towards a “Fuel check” reserved for the most modest households. A device that actually already exists in the Hauts-de-France region since 2016. There, it takes the name of personal transport assistance (ATP) and is intended for those who live more than 20 km from their place of work. To benefit from € 20 per month, paid directly into their bank account, beneficiaries must earn less than twice the minimum wage. They must also be domiciled in the region and use a private vehicle or motorized two-wheeler for the majority of their home-work trips. Some students may also be eligible, as may families having to drive their children to boarding schools or medical-educational institutes. A similar device has also existed since 2019 in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, and even since 2008 in the city of Castres (Tarn). The future “ national fuel check take a similar form? And what will be its amount? For now, it is unfortunately too early to tell.
Applications and sites to help you
To find the cheapest stations nearby, however, you can rely on many modern tools. The Waze community application thus tells you the price of fuel, regularly updated, in many establishments, as well as the distance necessary to reach them. Google Maps also offers this service, but for a shorter period of time and in a less efficient manner. We also find many free applications who dedicate themselves almost exclusively to this task : Petrol & CO (iOS and Android), Cheaper Fuel (Android), Fuel Stations and Petrol Prices (Android), Fuel Flash (Android), Petrol / Diesel Now (Android) or Zagaz (iOS and Android). Finally, the Government offers a website called prix-carburants.gouv.fr which allows you to find out the prices charged in points of sale throughout France, with various filters to refine your search.
E85 bioethanol as a savior?
Faced with this increase in gasoline prices, more and more of you are also turning to E85 bioethanol. Sometimes even without a box, some models like many Toyota hybrids are known to accept this fuel half the price without complaining. Mistrust, however. Besides the illegal nature of the thing, there are real risks for your mechanics. Be careful not to play the sorcerer’s apprentice on a car that is too expensive or too sophisticated: an engine change could cost you a lot more than the tens of dollars saved at the pump. The alternative of the approved case is not always without risk, and the directly compatible models are unfortunately few on the market. But we refer you to our recent article to know everything about E85 ethanol.
TO READ. Bioethanol E85. All about the cheapest fuel
