From this Thursday, September 1, from distributors apply new gas station discounts. First of all, the state, which makes it possible to reduce the price of fuel by 30 cents. Added to this is another discount from the TotalEnergies group. It 20 cents off in addition to that proposed by the government and available for all fuels without conditions. A practice that greatly annoys other distribution giants in France, including the Leclerc group.

To the Total/Leclerc confrontation?

In an interview with our colleagues from France Info, the CEO of the Leclerc group, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, admitted: without appreciating the discount provided by the TotalEnergies group. According to him, Total “gives a discount of 20 cents to customers of its network, but not to customers of our networks. However, Total is a very large French supplier.” The CEO of the Leclerc brand believes that the group itself is a customer of TotalEnergies and should therefore also benefit from the discount of 20 cents per liter and fuel.

🗣 Fuel discount of 30 cents per liter ➡️ “I invite consumers to look at price comparisons. The price is falling,” says Michel-Edouard Leclerc. He asks that Total sell its fuel at a discount also to distributors such as Leclerc. pic.twitter.com/2IJ50w3BS6

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) September 1, 2022

Michel-Edouard Leclerc also noted that he had written to Patrick Poignant on the subject. “We ask him to give us the same conditions. The customers of Leclerc, Carrefour, Avia, small pumping stations that sell Total, must be in the promise of Mr. Poignant.”

For its part, Total has not yet responded to the Leclerc group’s request.

Total is not exempt from capital gains tax

To criticize the 20 cent discount imposed by Total, says Michel-Edouard “arrangements with state bodies”. The CEO of the Leclerc group believes that for avoid excessive taxation from the state of France TotalEnergies offered this discountdeserve government. Total also justified this discount with the need to restore the purchasing power of the French.

However, the executive power has not yet completely abandoned the idea of ​​a supertax. Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne reminded this week that the door to the introduction of this tax “wasn’t closed”. This tax may even see the light of day by autumn. But the government still cannot agree on the concept “surplus profits”.

Meanwhile, the TotalEnergies group is drawing criticism from its competitors.