From Wednesday, France is significantly reducing the fuel discount for motorists, which has led to queues at the petrol pumps in some places for a few days. The state subsidy will drop from 30 cents per liter to 10 cents by the end of the year and will then be completely eliminated. The energy company Total will reduce its additional discount from 20 cents to 10 cents by the end of the year.
This also makes the trip across the border less attractive for tank tourists from Germany. Because of the comparatively low fuel prices in the border area, many motorists from Germany had recently commuted to France to fill up their tanks.
Actually, the tank discount should have been reduced at the beginning of November. After a week-long strike by refinery staff, there were still supply bottlenecks at many gas stations at the time, which have not yet been fully resolved everywhere. The government therefore decided to extend the rebate by half a month to prevent a rush to gas stations.
From the beginning of next year, France is planning targeted help for people who depend on their car for work and have only a limited income. The government promised a simple online procedure so that those eligible could have the grant transferred easily.
