Good evening Friends!
Flo and I are planning on driving down to our house in Carmaux at the end of this month but I have been reading rather ‘sensationalist’ reports on some ‘rag’s’ media pages that fuel is in short supply and that nearly 20% of filling stations have run out.
What is the truth there friends? Scaremongering or is that actually the case?
Cheers!
Carl
Only rupture of stocks in some regions because everyone has panicked into buying the cheaper Total fuel and depleted their tanks. There is NO general shortage of petrol although diesel might be different but the problem is the price. In this commune Super U are charging €2,17/litre yesterday but across the river, Carrefour are €1,99/litre. The refineries are still sending out tankers all over the country and on the main news last night, there is no official shortage apart from waiting for deliveries to the cheaper outlets. If you read the British press, they love to antagonise us in France as part of their rubbish rags, the truth if often very different and better. Prices are estimated to keep climbing all the time yet if things calm down, it may drop like a stone.
Petrol is completely fine as far as I can see. Diesel has some short term ruptures, but I’ve not heard of anyone not being able to find fuel at all.
A local Total garage has diesel at 2.03 and the queues are about 45minute long and it runs out mid afternoon (and refilled before next day). Otherwise the issue is price.
But is the UK any different? Same war…
I passed an Intermarché with diesel at €2.30 yesterday 
No fuel shortages in the UK that I’m aware of but the price of diesel has shot up and is now £1.81 at Asda, at the nearest Leclerc to us in Dept 17 it was 2.20E yesterday.
Some petrol stations have run out temporarily in the UK. We’re also planning to drive over at the start of May, and have some concerns.
People in the media seem to think the situation will get worse and that the last delivery via the strait of Hormuz arrived in the UK this week.
They keep saying that 20% of the world’s oil comes through the strait, but I haven’t seen how much of that is for Europe. Also, is there a longer (more expensive) longer route for the same oil to take?
Yesterday our local Carrefour Market in 14500 showed a price of 2.399€/litre.
However, the extensive charging network in France has no supply issues so if you bring an EV you shouldn’t have any problems 
We had no problem driving up through France Monday and Tuesday but we also decided we would pay motorway prices - 2.5 euros for 98 on Monday. Unsurprisingly, there are also no queues. Driving past Rennes, the service stations in town had queues that must have been 30-40 minute waits. The first service station on the motorway, I drove straight up to a pump.
Local Super U half an hour ago showing €2,20/ litre of 95. We always reckoned prices were deliberately increased every time there was a public holiday weekend but in this case, think they have to follow the rules.
Reminds me of the Fuel Strike in France, way back when.
Fuel restrictions were put in place at the pumps to ensure no greedy person gulped the lot. Only a small amount due to any one vehicle and no cans.
We were driving from top to bottom and picked up the max £5 worth of fuel allowed at the pumps whenever we could.
Phew, made it down South and decided we had the ideal excuse for not going back to work… Sorry Boss, no fuel.. we’re stuck in the South of France, such a shame.. ha ha.
This was par for the course when I lived in Brittany. Everytime someone had a grievance the petrol stations would be run down and I remember so many times OH could not get diesel for his vans and had to stay home but my neighbour who was an aide soignante got emergency supplies upon having an attestation and usually the gendarmes manned the pumps too.
Yes, those in special occupations could have access to the fuel they needed.
Love that post Badger.
Petrol in our local London station is £1.53 no shortage noted anywhere and no queues other than the normal.
No, not THAT oil, or most of it. It is bottled up there. There is a pipeline for THAT oil, but it can only handle a fraction of what the tankers would normally bring through the strait.
I am sure that with the price so high other sources will come on line and reduce some of the shortage…eventually. But even then,not all oil is created equal. Certain refineries refine sweet oil and certain refineries refine sour oil. So, you get into a mix problem. It’s complicated. It doesn’t fit on the front of a red hat.
Last Sunday my wife tried to fill at Tesco but they had no fuel, ended up at an Esso instead, which did.
I drove past LeClerc this morning and there were very long queues at the pumps. Are people starting to panic buy?
More likely to be travelling later today or tomorrow for the long weekend than panic buying or whilst they are doing the shopping are filling at the same time to save going back
If you live near Spain I saw on the news that they are reducing VAT on petrol from 21% to 10%, and petrol is usually up to 30 cents a litre cheaper anyway.