Gasoline prices reached their highest level since the start of the Middle East conflict on Wednesday, May 6. The average price of super unleaded 95 stood at 2.03 euros per liter. The increase stems from the war and the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz.
Energy Minister Sébastien Lecornu told the National Assembly on Tuesday that "geopolitics has entered the fuel tanks of French women and men." Prices have risen 32 cents since February 27, the day before the first Israeli-American strikes on Iran.
TotalEnergies reported first-quarter profits of 5.8 billion dollars, up 51 percent. The company has capped prices at its 3,300 service stations. The prime minister is urging the firm to make further efforts.
Left-wing lawmakers are calling for a tax on "superprofits." A Figaro editorial described the proposal as "totally demagogic." France, already facing zero growth in the first quarter, refuses to return to massive subsidies.
