Reminder: Now might be a good time to fill up your car in France

If you drive a car in France, it may be a good idea to fill it up in the next few days, before the government’s 30-cent-per-litre discount is reduced to 10 cents per litre after next Tuesday (November 15).

The 20-cent-per-litre discount being applied at TotalEnergies petrol stations will also drop to 10 cents per litre on this date.

Both discounts were originally due to fall to 10 cents from November 1, but when strikes at French refineries made it difficult for people in France to access fuel, the government decided to prolong the increased saving to make up for the time lost to petrol station shortages.

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said: “French people are penalised by the disruption in supply to petrol stations.

“Therefore, the government will prolong the 30-cent-per-litre reduction until mid-November.” The 10-cent-per-litre discount will begin on November 16.

After November 15, the discount will remain at 10 cents per litre until December 31, after which it will be removed completely.

However, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has confirmed that from 2023, a “targeted aid” will be made available to “all those who do not have a choice but to take their car to work.”

Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal later added that this state support would benefit “people who drive a lot” and whose income is below a certain level.

He said that this could concern “half of those who work, or 11 million people.”

The fine details of this targeted support should be outlined further before the end of the year.

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