Overseas territories: the government is preparing the public for a fuel price increase

In France's overseas territories, the word is circulating like a rumor, one that people prefer to confirm before it explodes: fuel prices are going up. Several prefects have spoken out in recent days to warn the public of a "significant" increase to come, against a backdrop of tensions in Iran and the oil shock.

The signal is all the more striking given that the cost of living there already exceeds that of mainland France, with an almost total dependence on imports. Prices remain regulated by the state in the overseas departments, but this regulation is no magic bullet when oil prices skyrocket.

The pump, a social barometer under surveillance

In French Guiana, Prefect Antoine Poussier announced a sharp increase in crude oil prices and refining costs, effective April 1st, with expected pressure on diesel fuel prices. Transporters are watching the bill arrive, brows furrowed: Dominique Mangal, president of the union, warns that some companies expect to operate at a loss.

In Martinique, Prefect Etienne Desplanques convened economic stakeholders and promised an increase "not as steep as in mainland France," while emphasizing the inexorable nature of regulated prices, indexed to global market prices and the euro-dollar exchange rate. He anticipates diesel prices approaching the peaks seen at the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis and assures that margins at the Lamentin refinery and service stations "will remain stable," a carefully crafted message for an island still marked by the social tensions of late 2024.

In Guadeloupe, the prefecture is mentioning a possible increase of around 20 cents and insists on controlling profit margins: there's no question, says the State, of allowing Sara, wholesalers, or retailers to profit. The message is clear, almost didactic, as if the administration were walking a tightrope: containing anxiety without promising the impossible. One stubborn reality remains, felt by everyone with every fill-up, between daily commutes and already tight budgets: in these territories, the price of fuel is never just a number, it's a thermometer, and it's starting to rise.