While the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz continues in the Middle East, the energy crisis in France seems to be long-term. Fuel prices remain at a particularly high level and the government refuses, at this stage, to intervene to lower fuel prices in the short term. At the microphone of La Grande Interview Europe 1/CNews this Monday morning, Michel-Édouard Leclerc, president of the strategic committee of the E. Leclerc centers, estimated that their price “won’t go down anytime soon”.
“It’s yo-yo”
“For the moment, it’s yo-yo. It is impossible today, even for an operational person, for a distributor, for a buyer, to have a purchasing plan. You realize, there are volatilities of 60 cents sometimes in a week on a liter,” he lamented. Faced with more than a month and a half of conflict, the prospects of a rapid resumption of oil traffic are fading. “We risk remaining at such a level, particularly because of everything that has been destroyed and even if it is rebuilt quickly, everything will not be done in two months”he added.
Michel-Édouard Leclerc also recognized his error. On April 10, he declared that prices “should decrease” in the days to come, without returning “at previous prices”. He acknowledged that he “didn’t feel like it, between all the destroyed infrastructure and the boats still stuck” in a strait over which the Iranians and Americans claim control. In this maelstrom, the sales manager estimated that“we have at least six months, until next winter, of energy crisis”.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a 70 million euro plan targeted and limited to certain sectors, which should come into force this week. “The public authorities must not make mistakes”, declared Michel-Édouard Leclerc, opposing a control of the amounts of margins earned by distributors. “ Those who make profits on the backs of consumers are the oil states, the resellers, the refiners and the traders.he insisted. I think that the VAT surplus that the State collects could be intended for professions that need it, like nurses for example”. And to conclude: “Declining growth means less money coming into the state coffers (…) We not only need to help consumers, but we need a savings plan.”
