Some petrol stations in France report fuel shortages

About 18 per cent of petrol stations in France reported some fuels unavailable on Tuesday morning, State Secretary for Energy Maud Bregeon said.

French oil company TotalEnergies has set a price cap on retail fuel in France, leaving its prices lower than those of other brands. The move has led to supply problems at some service stations, Bregeon said.

The minister explained the situation in an interview with the news channel BFM TV. She also stressed that there was no overall fuel shortage on the market. According to her, the problem is not fuel availability per se, but rather logistics and changes in demand.

She added that the current situation is related to shifts in demand that have affected the distribution of fuel between stations. The problems therefore do not affect the entire sector, but only certain locations where demand and supply temporarily do not match.

(reuters, bak)