Minister Will Urge France’s Fuel Retailers to Extend Price Caps

(Bloomberg) -- France’s energy transition minister intends to ask fuel retailers to keep prices low in a meeting next week to help shield motorists from rising costs. 

Agnes Pannier-Runacher will meet with representatives of the country’s fuel retailers on Tuesday, she said in an interview with France Inter. She intends to ask them to extend price caps or other special measures to keep prices down. 

“The French people don’t have the wiggle room to pay more for fuel,” Pannier-Runacher said. “It is not the kind of matter where those players can make a significant margin.” 

Her comments echo those of French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who on Thursday called on TotalEnergies SA to extend a cap on fuel prices for motorists. Gasoline prices at the pump have risen recently following a resurgence in the cost of oil as Saudi Arabia and Russia extended production cuts.

While the French energy giant has pledged to keep gasoline and diesel at its services stations below €2 a liter until the end of the year, other fuel providers have made special offers at cost price, Pannier-Runacher said.

Pannier-Runacher met with France’s electricity providers on Friday, pushing them to be more transparent on their pricing policies after bills soared in recent months. The minister warned that “rogue suppliers” that don’t comply with their “advisory and loyalty duty” toward customers would face consequences.

“If a provider crosses the red line, it will be sanctioned,” she said on Saturday.

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