The sale of fuel at a loss “will last six months” from the beginning of December, announces Bruno Le Maire

The government has been setting the tone since this weekend. Fuel distributors – large retailers, integrated players and independent stations – will be able to sell at a loss “from the beginning of December”, for a period of “six months”. For the Minister of the Economy, the objective is to ensure “cheaper fuels in France”. Diesel has, in fact, jumped by 22 cents in two months, going to 1.95 euros per liter, and gasoline by 12.6 cents over the same period. Guest of 4V this Monday morning on France 2, Bruno Le Maire also highlighted Total's price freeze, at 1.99 euros per liter of fuel.

The legislative text on selling at a loss will be studied at the “Assembly next October”. Concretely, this must change article L442-5 of the commercial code, which normally prohibits resale at a loss for all traders. This new text will be included in the bill on commercial renegotiations. It aims to accelerate the reopening of discussions between distributors and manufacturers, to lower the prices of thousands of references, while the prices of certain raw materials have been falling for several weeks.

“Everyone must be committed to this fight against inflation,” added the minister, who also welcomes the “commitments of distributors” with “prices blocked on 5,000 products.” “We are going to get out of this very brutal inflation,” says Bruno Le Maire, who wants to achieve “inflation of 2% in 2024”. “I don’t want one day of lost purchasing power,” he insisted, confidently.