Fuel distributors in France are strongly opposed to a government decree that aims to cap their profit margins as the war in the Middle East continues to drive up prices. Leading retailers warn the measure is hasty and unlikely to bring consumers much relief.
The draft decree, announced on Tuesday evening, is intended partly to avoid distributors reaping a windfall by capping their margins on petrol and diesel. It is due to be examined by the National Consumer Council and the Conseil d’État, France's highest court.
Fuel prices in France have risen sharply since the outbreak of war in Iran in late February and the subsequent disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than a quarter of the world's oil transits.
The price of petrol has gone up by around 15 percent to an average of roughly €2 per litre, while diesel has surged by 34 percent to more than €2.30 per litre.
In a letter to the prime minister, seen by news agency AFP on Wednesday, the heads of France’s leading supermarket fuel distributors described the draft decree as “technically defective, economically unbalanced and legally fragile”.
Thierry Cotillard, head of the Mousquetaires retail group that owns the Intermarché supermarket chain, criticised what he called rushed policymaking.
“It is becoming unbearable to take decisions in a hurry, without consultation with economic stakeholders, and above all, will produce no results,” he told news channel Franceinfo on Wednesday, denouncing a “PR stunt”.
Full story Petrol stations reject French government plan to cap profit margins on fuel - RFI
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