pandemonium at Bercy. This Thursday, the minister of Economy and finance, Bruno Le Maire, has received the industry players fuel in france, in order to “make a point of situation on the evolution of the oil price”. Scheduled this morning, the meeting was attended by the various representatives of the circuit of distribution of the fuel, of the professional organizations to the operators of oil tankers, passing through the stockists and retailers of large and medium-sized surfaces.
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The minister pointed out first that the price of oil had returned to lower levels, “a 63-dollars a barrel this morning, after a strong rise in the beginning of the week. In these conditions, “there is no reason for there to be a price increase at the pump prices and heating oil,” said Bruno Le Maire, the current price of oil “does not justify any increase in the price of gas or oil”. Bercy will check so that there is no increase in “unjustified” price. “Many of our compatriots are forced to do 70, 80 kilometers per day”, and the “lower-price variation has implications strong” for them, he explained, calling the sector of the oil to demonstrate “responsibility”.
In case of soaring prices, the State has “the means to cope and protect the French”, he said, citing the cheque energy. The boss of Bercy has also affirmed that the return of the carbon tax was not on the agenda for 2020. The services will also check that the distributors will pass on the prices to drop, in the event of a decrease in the price of oil. The issue of domestic fuel oil will be especially studied to avoid the “windfall effects” which could seek to take advantage of the economic actors. An investigation of the DGCCRF on this topic will be put in place, and sanctions may be imposed in the case of abuse.
For the time being, not question to lower taxes on the fuel, however, required to specify Bruno The Mayor: “these are political choices, which allow France to be less dependent on fossil fuels and geographical areas that are unstable, such as the Gulf region, is justified. In addition, the TICPE floating is not the order of the day: “if one wants to decrease the fuel cost of three cents per litre, it is necessary to spend one billion euros”, he advanced. In other words, the economic losses are too high relative to the benefits generated by a reduction of the taxation on fuels. The policy of the government is, therefore, “assumed”, “we need money to fund the energy transition”.
A subject stretched
The executive takes a close look at the curve of the price of fuel in France since the attacks on two oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, last Saturday. This has resulted in a strong increase of the price of oil on the markets: the barrel of Brent went from 60,25 dollars, Friday, to more than 68 dollars, on Tuesday. It has since dropped back below 64 dollars, after the declarations reassuring to Riyadh.
The majority wants to avoid seeing a significant increase of the note paid by the consumers fuel the social unrest, as was the case last year: at the time, the explosion of the fuel bill as a result of the carbon tax had led to the emergence of the movement of the “yellow vests”, which is approaching its first anniversary in November.
Several members of the government are thus mounted to the niche these last few days in order to reassure consumers. The minister of ecological Transition and solidarity, Elisabeth Borne, has warned that the French would see a rapid rise in price “a few cents” – four to five cents, according to the French Union of petroleum industries (UFIP) and the president of Total, Patrick Pouyanné. The minister of the Action and of the public accounts, Gérald Darmanin, has explained at Paris as Bercy kept an eye on the evolution of prices. No concrete measures are foreseen for the moment, however.
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The different actors reject the responsibility for a price increase: the secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, called “the oil to moderate the price increase” in order to reduce the burden of the bill, when Patrick Pouyanné held that “it is not the oil to make an effort”, their margin is already low, of the order of a penny per litre. For its part, the distributor Intermarché is expected to sell during the entire month of October for fuel at cost price, a transaction that was announced by the boss of the brand, Thierry Cotillard.
The prospect of a rise in fuel prices is of concern to consumers: the UFC-que choisir has launched a petition calling on the authorities to remove the “VAT paid by consumers on the environmental taxes”, in order to reduce the final score. For their part, the members of the group of “yellow vests citizens” have demanded an immediate fuel price. “Emmanuel Macron must not let the situation get complicated. […] The rural and suburban areas are in the front line”, argues this group on Facebook.
