In Ardèche and Haute-Loire, two retailers say they can no longer offer such prices to their customers.
“I was ashamed to post such prices“. Stéphane Sabadel, manager of a car dealership in Vivier, Ardèche, has decided to suspend his fuel-related activities at his Elan service station since Monday. Like him, there are hundreds of them having to deal with this unprecedented crisis which is affecting retailers and consumers around the world. For a retailer, the sale of fuel has always been more of a service than a profit-making activity. But the, “sell diesel at €2.40 per liter, it’s no longer reasonable“laments Stéphane Sabadel.
“People call me a thief every day when they see the prices I offer”
Olivier Thomas, manager of a car dealership in Haute-Loire.
It is a fit of anger that he would like to spread to all retailers in France. Olivier Thomas, owner of a car dealership in Saint-Paulien in Haute-Loire, has also taken the decision to suspend the distribution of fuels which he also provides under the Elan banner. “We do not endorse theft! No more stocks at the moment“, can we read on the pumps of his gas station. He who already deplored achieving very low margins before this crisis, must now deal with record prices. “People call me a thief every day when they see the prices I offer. I can no longer sell at this price“.
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By ordering 15,000 liters at the current price, it could find itself in deficit in the event of a sharp drop in diesel from one week to the next. Suspending your activity means avoiding losing money. Even more in these times of crisis, the manager notes several “full flights” every week. “A theft of a full tank of 70€ makes me lose my commission for the week, or even more“, he explains.
As for Stéphane Sabadel, his accountant reminds him every year that he must stop using fuel. But in the deep countryside, these retailers serve these local populations who are loyal to them. Firefighters, companies, farmers, many of them come to get supplies from them. “I closed when the price of diesel went from €1.86 to €2.34. These are inaccessible prices for my customers“, emphasizes the Ardéchois manager.
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The two managers hope to makeshake things upby their action. Olivier Thomas says he has received a dozen calls from service stations in the south-east to communicate their support and their desire to follow him in this process. “We will reopen when the price of diesel drops below 2€“, proclaims Stéphane Sabadel for his part. For now, they are preparing an open letter to all distributors Momentum to call on them to stop distributing, and especially not to order fuel until prices drop. “If tomorrow the whole Elan network says ‘enough is enough’, I wonder if the government would not find a solutionasks the Ardéchois manager.