French supermarket is offering €1-a-litre fuel… but there is a catch

If you need to fill up your vehicle’s fuel tank before next week, there will be no better place in France to do so than Casino supermarkets.

In the face of inflation at the pump, the supermarket is bringing back its offer of selling fuel at €1 per litre of fuel.

But there is a catch: you have to do an expensive shop at the store to qualify for the cheaper fuel.

Fuel will be sold at its normal price but comes with a voucher (up to a maximum of €50).

You then take this into the Casino store where you can cash it in provided you spend at least €120 at the checkouts.

Vouchers must be used by Sunday

If the roundabout restrictions of the deal have not blemished its appeal, you will have to act fast to benefit.

Vouchers will be given to those topping up at the pumps on Friday (May 12) and Saturday (May 13) and have to be used by midday on Sunday (May 14), after which Casino stores generally close for the day.

The voucher must also be used at a till being staffed by a cashier (and not an automatic checkout), which means even some stores open on Sunday may not be eligible.

Other than this, the deal is available at all participating Casino stores, a list of which you can find here alongside the general terms and conditions for the voucher’s (limited) use.

The supermarket is hoping the deal will drive customers into their stores immediately after topping up – after all, they will have their car there to bring the necessary bags of shopping home.

Read more: French inflation continues to rise but food price hikes slow

Petrol in France most expensive in Europe

Drivers may still be enticed by the deal, despite its complications. That is because fuel costs in France are among the most expensive in Europe.

This is due to the “explosive profit margins” oil companies are employing at the pumps in France, according to consumer watchdog Consommation logement cadre de vie (CLCV).

“Since the beginning of the year 2023, the gross margin of 'transport distribution' is at a historical record exceeding 25 cents per litre,” said the association.

"The margin was generally around 15 cents per litre," between 2018 and 2021, it said.

Unlike elsewhere in Europe, France’s fuel prices have not dropped to levels seen before the war in Ukraine, according to the European Commission.

On average, a litre of petrol in Spain costs €1.46 – and a litre of unleaded 95 is €1.62 – whereas in France the costs are €1.72 and €1.91 respectively.

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