The posters are discreet but there are many of them. Around the Leclerc gas station in Saint-Grégoire, near Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), the message is clear. “Diesel: Here, we reflect a reduction of 21 cents per liter including tax, linked to the destocking of strategic reserves. » On this Monday morning in November, quite a few motorists are waiting to take advantage of this lower price on diesel, which now stands at 2.19 euros. In the line, Estelle is waiting. “Before, I went to Total, because they had blocked the price at 2.25 euros. » If she admits “not to drive a lot”, the young woman recognizes that this surge in the cost of fuel is weighing on her budget. “When we have to go to friends who live far away, we think twice. »
She has been moderating her travels for several days while waiting for the famous drop in prices. “I pushed to the reserve to wait for the diesel to drop. I'm going to save a few euros, that's something. But what surprises me is that not everyone has the same price. It’s a bit annoying,” slips the motorist before refueling his gray sedan.
Estelle says the truth. Despite the government's promises to lower the price of diesel by 12 to 18 cents per liter from November 1 thanks to the release of strategic stocks, the reality is sometimes quite different.
According to Commerce Minister Serge Papin, “more than half” of service stations had applied this reduction as of this morning. In the TotalEnergies station on avenue Charles Tillon, diesel is still 2.25 euros. There are worse things. At the Super U station at the Grand Quartier shopping center, diesel is still priced at 2.40 euros. The famous, long-awaited discount was not applied. “We make fun of people, frankly. When we are told that the price of a barrel will increase, we immediately see the difference. But when you have to go down, you don't see anything. The government just wanted to sell its electric cars,” Yohann storms. If he came to fill up here, it’s because he has the U fuel card from his brand new job.
“We are taken for imbeciles”
To come to work, Yohann travels 40 km every day in his personal car. His wife does barely less. “We each drop more than 200 euros of gas just to come to work. This is madness. » He, the former “Yellow Vest” took to the streets when diesel rose to 1.50 euros per liter. Six years later, the liter jumped by 60%. “There, it’s such a disaster, we’re getting eaten. All my friends talk to me about it. » So the reduction of a few cents makes him laugh gently.
And he's not the only one. “The government takes us for fools. They should have lowered prices months ago. I don’t know if we will find a price of less than two euros,” worries Suzanne (not her real name), sitting in the passenger seat. “You imagine that we pay 2.40 euros for a liter of diesel. But it’s just huge,” says Fabrice. Faced with this indefinite crisis, the young retiree found the solution. He runs his old petrol Berlingo with some bioethanol. “I haven’t reprogrammed anything in the engine and it’s been running like that for four years,” he says with a smile.
Among motorists, this drop in prices is ultimately far from being applauded. Because everyone knows that the decline is temporary. And above all because everyone expects a return to decent prices. “When I was a student in La Rochelle, I had to take my car all the time. I spent my entire purse on it. That’s 250 to 300 euros per month. There, you tell me about a drop, but I don’t see it,” explains Inès.
Because the young woman runs on gasoline, she will not benefit in any way from the release of the famous stocks. No more than Carla, who was visiting Brittany for the weekend. “I have already spent 75 euros to go see my parents in Saint-Malo this weekend. And there, I already have to get over it to get back to Angers. This is no longer possible,” explains the young woman before getting back into her Peugeot 308. If the government hoped to put an end to the motorists’ protest with its measure, it will have to do much more.
