Not all petrol stations in France will offer 15c discount on April 1

Pumps must be emptied of fuel at the old price before they can be refilled with fuel at the new price, it has emerged, meaning that some prices will not switch overnight

A petrol station in France with signs to each type of fuel
Pumps must be emptied of fuel at the old price before they can be refilled with fuel at the new price, meaning some will not include the 15 centimes refund overnight
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Some petrol stations in France will not offer the 15 centimes per litre refund on fuel from April 1, as they may not be ready to make the change overnight.

The government in France pledged to offer consumers 15 centimes back on the price of every litre of fuel from April 1, in a bid to help with the soaring cost of oil as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Read more:French fuel prices to be reduced by 15 euro cents per litre in April

However, a report from RMC and BMFTV has suggested that not all petrol stations will be ready to make the switch from day one, mainly because the price change will need to come from suppliers, and not the supermarkets or petrol stations themselves.

Service station tanks must be empty of the old fuel at the old price, before they can be filled with more fuel at the lower price. This means that some could still be offering the higher price come April 1.

Most stations are expecting to offer the new price from April 1, however.

It has now been confirmed that the listed prices on petrol station screens and signs at the entrance of the station will be the new price and include the 15 centimes refund, in contrast to Prime Minister Jean Castex’s announcement last week.

A sticker or stamp will be added to your till receipt to confirm that you have received the 15 centimes refund.

The measure – which is set to last for four months – was announced on March 16, as part of a new financial aid plan to help businesses and individuals hit by inflation and the economic consequences of the conflict.

In addition to the 15 centimes announced by the government, supermarkets and fuel companies are also taking it in turns to offer promotions and deals (including these over this coming weekend).

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