Will Totalenergies announce a new fuel reduction in the next few days? At the moment, nothing is done. On BFMTV, Olivier Véran, government spokesman, gave a clue that seems to be going in the right direction: “Trust me, it’s in discussion with them.”
The amount of this new aid has not been made public. Will Totalenergy limit the liter of fuel to 2 euros, psychological threshold for the boss of Total? Nothing says so, but it could be announced in the coming days on the occasion of the winter holidays. A specific date has not been confirmed at this time.
This gesture by the oil group would come after the announcement of a Record net profit of $20.5 billion in 2022, or more than 19,000 million euros, thanks to the increase in gas and oil prices after the war in Ukraine. This gain had created a controversy over the oil group accused of enriching itself from the energy crisis.
Asked on Wednesday about this action that revives the debate on the taxation of “super profits”, Olivier Véran said “understand that the figure (…) can shock”. However, he recalled that Totalenergies obtains “the vast majority” of its profits abroad and that the group had paid “up to 200 million euros” on the 350 million profits obtained in France.
“No Trick”
Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of Totalenergies, had mentioned at the time the possibility of a bonus “if the liter of diesel exceeds two euros”, as is the case in many cities in France. According to the combustibles.org site, the national average for SP98 is 1,975 euros with an increase of 2.28% in one month. The SP95 is at 1,907 euros (+2.47%). Only diesel fell to an average of 1,841 (-3.26%).
While waiting for a possible official announcement of this new bonus by Total, Olivier Véran recalled that the most modest French, who have no choice but to use a vehicle to go to work, can obtain a fuel subsidy of 100 euros. This help is available from the end of January.
“A little less than 5 million people requested it, less than 50% [des personnes éligibles, NDLR]. It is budgeted, there are no tricks, we want everyone to be able to have this compensation. There are still 5 million French people who have not applied for it,” said Olivier Véran.
Source: BFM TV
