The French Federation of Fuels, Petroleum Products and Heating (FFC3) will file a complaint with the Competition Authority to challenge the fuel price caps implemented by TotalEnergies. The organization, which represents nearly 1,000 independent service stations, believes this commercial policy creates unfair competition and weakens distributors who do not have the same financial resources.
Since the start of the war in the Middle East, TotalEnergies has capped fuel prices in part of its network to limit the impact of rising oil prices on motorists. According to the FFC3 (French Federation of Car and Gas Companies), this strategy is diverting a significant portion of customers away from independent service stations, some of which have seen a drop in traffic of up to 40% over several months.
Independent business owners denounce unfair competition
The federation believes that the margins earned by service stations alone are insufficient to sustainably maintain price caps. It considers that this capacity comes from TotalEnergies' integrated petroleum activities, which can offset losses in its distribution network thanks to revenues generated upstream in the supply chain.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné recently indicated that this measure has already cost the group approximately €200 million since the start of the conflict in the Middle East. The price cap currently remains in effect at nearly a third of TotalEnergies stations, or about 1,200 stations, primarily located in rural areas. Referral to the Competition Authority could now open a new battle between independent service stations and the oil giant.
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