Gas Shortage??

You are correct. The strikes are against Total and Exxon, but supplies are tight everywhere in France. Negotiations continue Monday. There is no way to know how this will affect you one week from today.

two weeks ago my usual time waiting in a queue to refuel in Alsace, Lorraine, Nord and Pas de Calais was around 20 to 25 minutes.

One experience of waiting about 15 minutes in Bas-Rhin (67) was no fun, they limited it to 30€ and pay-in-advance which was on a tiny piece of paper stuck to the pump, invisible before arrival.. I gave up and went elsewhere. (the PrixCarburant app had it 0.08€ cheaper than others (a Total) so that may have accounted partly).

I don't know what the queues are now since we have returned to the UK.

I haven't had to queue at all ( usually I just drive in and refuel, sometimes there is a car ahead of me), but I have seen queues at some Total service stations. About 75% of service stations in the Loire Valley are closed today, but that is more to stop panic buying than supplies having fun out.

Who knows what the situation will be in 7 days, but the official line is that there is 3 months reserve being held, and the stoppages are localised.

I like queue better than line, but queue makes me think of Q from James Bond.

Just throwing that out there.

The wait in line for gas is now a couple of hours in some places if you can find a station with gas or diesel. It's a serious situation but negotiations are in process.

And once the strike ends there will the lag time of getting the refineries up and running and then getting fuel to the stations, many of which will be dry. The news article I saw indicated the problem was greater in 'Northern France', with areas where 30% of the stations were out of at least one type of fuel vs the overall average of 10% of stations country wide.

May be a time to pre-pay the gas and not have to spend time hunting and waiting to fuel up before turn in.

How flexible are your plans? Is switching to public transport an option for at least part of your trip if this becomes an issue for you?

Unfortunately, we have mostly booked apartments in rural areas that aren't easy to access with public transport and we are now in the no-refund period for a few of them ... but reworking our itinerary for public transport is definitely the back-up plan. As luck would have it our last trip to France was during the beginning of the Yellow Vest Protests, which diverted our plans several times. We don't seem to have a lot of luck with our French trips. Sigh.

We are currently in France with a car. We drove from the Loire Valley to Brittany yesterday and so far I’ve only seen one station totally out of gas, not that I was looking because I was unaware of this. We didn’t have any trouble filling up yesterday in the Loire. Now I’m going to make sure we keep our tank as full as possible, just in case. We have the car for another week until we return it in Lille. Thanks for bring this to my attention.

Yikes, Andrea. The North ran out of gas first, and Belgian stations cracked down on so many people crossing over to fill up. I hope they settle quicky and you continue smoothly.

If you have the choice of a short wait at a French filling station vs. no wait at a Belgian one, I would - until the end of this month - go for the French with the wait. Especially if the approach is downhill so I can coast and keep the engine off. M. Macron's 0.30€/l discount really helps. It will be around 2.00€ in Belgium.

And the reason that the lines are longest at Total stations is because in addition to the .30 per liter that the French government is offering back, Total is offering another .20 per liter !

Not to mention some huge number of their refinery staff is on strike....

(But the point here being that people are really waiting in line to get the price benefit at Total, which is exacerbating the problem there)

I bought fuel today, had to wait in line for almost 5 minutes - mainly because there's only one pump at my local with SP98.

Diesel was restricted to 30€, no restriction on 98. Dunno if there is any restrictions on SP95 or E85. The closer to the affected refineries the worse the problem, it would appear.

Hello all,
We have a car rented for 13 days starting Oct 17 in Avignon. Plans for Languedoc. Now wondering about fuel shortages. Maybe stick to nearby Luberon and Cotes du Rhone?
Any news or advice appreciated in advance.

Update on our fuel experience. We have seen a few stations closed. Lack of fuel? Maybe. Yesterday we saw a long line as we passed by a Total station near St. Malo. We filled up without a problem on our drive from Vannes to Dinan a couple of days ago and will keep the tank as full as possible. It was a Total station, but in a rural area. That might be the key. We move on to Bayeux tomorrow and I’m sure we will fill up before or when we get there, even though we are barely under the F on the fuel gauge.

@ Toklat--where in Languedoc because it's a large area starting just over the river from Avignon. If it's Uzès, that's close by. You could ask for a diesel for better gas mileage.

EDIT: I just asked a friend near Avignon, and it's becoming difficult there as well (the south used to be OK but not anymore). Thankfully, distances are short, so you don't need much fuel to start with.
In the north, it's worse. Most of my colleagues in the Paris region are now entirely unable to refuel!
@Andrea: definitely fill up in Brittany, as the further north you go, the worse it gets (I think because the northern oil depots are on strike).

If I'm heading south in two or three weeks I'd better top off before leaving England. I wonder how it will be as I make my way down the Autoroute de Soleil. Sounds like I should be fine from sort of Dijon or Troyes south?

I don't have a car, so I haven't had to search for gas, but from what I hear from others and on the news, it's not a good situation here in the Hérault.

I just found out from the hostess at our first apartment rental near Vaux de Vicomte that they are renting cars at Charles de Gaulle with empty or near empty tanks.

Check out the French news source, lots of articles on this topic: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2022/10/11/fuel-shortages-french-government-pushes-for-quick-resolution-to-strikes_5999882_5.html

We were planning on exploring the area south of Carcassone for several days then Albi and east through the haut Languedoc working our way back to Avignon.
I have heard no reports from that area, but this situation is pretty fluid right now.

Thanks so much for the Avignon report!!

Toklat--I live just east of where you described. As I said earlier, I don't have a car, but I'm hearing about serious shortages where I am.

For those who have a car right now or who will be on the road in the next few days, and if the situation does not improve check out:

https://penurie.mon-essence.fr/w/

This is the map of gas stations updated every day (only those with gas unavailabilities).
Those in red no longer have any type of gas.
Those in orange have only certain types (only diesel for example) If you click on the orange point it tells you which fuels are unavailable.
Note that currently you can only buy a maximum of 30 liters. (and this morning it was 20 liters maximum in a station near my home). Some are reserved permanently or at certain times of the day for emergency services, police, firefighters, ambulances, etc.
You will not be allowed to take gas at these stations

@Balso, thanks for the tip.

This whole situation is making me nervous. It makes me wish I had prepaid for the tank of gas so I can return it as empty as possible. We return the car in Lille. Maybe I should return the car in Bayeux or Caen and take the train to Lille. What do you locals think? We were going to return the car when we arrive there anyway.

It makes me wish I had prepaid for the tank of gas so I can return it as empty as possible.

You still can... It will cost a bit (Hertz charged me somewhere around 3-4 euros per missing liter when I did that in late September), but still cheaper than derailing all your plans.
This said, Dinan to Lille should be OK on a tank of a gas, but might be a bit tight if you tour a lot around Normandy.

Andrea, Do whatever will give you peace of mind.

I think traveling by train from even Caen to Lille involves a trip through Paris with a station change from St-Lazare to Nord. The shortest travel time I saw for an upcoming weekday on the SCNF Connect website was 4 hr. 9 min. The connection time (if the first train is on time, not something I'd count on) is 50 minutes. Google says the distance between the two stations is about 1.3 miles and estimates the walking time at 28 minutes. Bus E looks useful.

Yes, we would have to get between Gare St. Lazare & Gare du Nord. Late yesterday afternoon I contacted AutoEurope to see if I could change my drop off location because we rented through them. They said I need to contact Europcar in Caen. I sent a message late yesterday afternoon on their website and got a message that I would get a response within 4 business hours. That was about 27 hours ago. No reply. I’ve noticed that gas doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem in small towns, so we may just have to fill up whenever we see gas and hope for the best. If we can’t find gas in or close to Lille and get charged for it I guess we will have to deal with it. It’s probably less than the added expense of train tickets.

Avis tried to assess a 200e fuel surcharge despite the tank being full. Luckily I had my receipts, but I was shocked at the amount.

That’s outrageous! Reminder to self…be sure to get receipts.

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle this morning. Our rental car had 3/4 of a tank of gas. We only need to return it with a 3/4 full tank because of this. They said they are not renting cars with up to 1/2 a tank of gas but no less because no one will take it if there is less than 1/2 of a tank.

Of the 5-6 stations we have seen so far, only one had gas and there was quite a line up. We are told it will improve once we get further away from Paris.

My wife and I left Paris on the 13th, and we, too, were told things would get better outside of Paris. We did find gazole/diesel about half way to Chartres, but since then every station we’ve stopped at or driven past in the Loire valley has been out of both essence/gasoline and gazole. We’re driving to Nantes tomorrow. We should still have at least half a tank, but if things don’t change, I don’t know how we’ll get the car back to Paris. Fingers crossed.

@LATDM, I heard it's better on the motorway service stations, because people don't casually drive by and check (it costs a toll to do so!). Try before reaching Nantes!

A couple of points that might be helpful.

First, the map linked by JoLui is not comprehensive. I know just from driving around the area where I live (Cotentin Penninsula in western Normandie) that there are a lot of stations not shown on that map that are out of fuel.

Second, to increase your chances of finding fuel until this situation is rectified and in addition to stations on the Autoroutes, stations in small towns often have fuel while stations in larger towns and on major roadways, with lots of traffic, are out. You may pay a bit more per liter, but it's better than nothing. Supermarket/Hypermarket fueling stations are about 50/50 odds these days. Some heating oil distributors have fuel pumps that the public can use that have the appropriate taxes applied -- there's one in the next town over from our house that's like this. These can be out of the way and not heavily trafficked. Look for a small sign that says "l'espace carburant" or similar. If you need a name to look for, Bolloré Energy is a large petroleum products distributor with outlets in many cities.

We’ve been lucky. We switched from traveling on smaller non-toll roads to larger motorways. We found diesel at a large truck stop type gas station between Amboise and Villandry, and then this morning we found diesel at a small mom-and-pop station an hour north of Nantes. For each station we found with fuel, we drove by another that was out. It took a little perseverance, that’s all.

Staff at two other refineries owned by the US group Esso-ExxonMobil returned to work at the end of last week, but operations there will need at least a fortnight to return to normal, the company said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/protesters-march-in-paris-as-french-refinery-strikes-continue/6792082.html

It will get worse before it gets better, as re-starting a refinery, is not as simple as flipping a light switch.

In 3 weeks it should be better ( i.e., less bad ) than it is now, is my guess

Happy hunting

Here is my final report in our quest for gas. We filled up in Bayeux before departing and topped off somewhere when we were at 3/4 tank. There were occasion digital signs on the toll road showing where gas was. When we were about 30 kilometers from Lille, our destination, we stopped to fill up. My husband’s credit card wasn’t accepted. My credit card wasn’t accepted. Those are the cards we’ve been using. There was no apparent way to pay with cash. We weren’t too worried because an electronic sign had indicated there was gas about 10 kilometers ahead. But there wasn’t. We got to our hotel in Lille and asked at the front desk where we could find gas. She had no idea because stations were out. The car was returned with 3/4 tank of gas. I took a picture so I would have proof. The only question now is how much will they charge us for 1/4 tank of gas?

The refueling fees should be on the rental contract. For a 1/4 tank, even if they charge you €4/liter (what Hertz charged me in Sept.) that's still in the double digits.

@ Andrea.

As balso writes, how much you will be charged should be in the hire contract (“Contrat de location”) that you signed with Auto Europe ten days or so ago by the sound of it. In the T&Cs (Terms and Conditions), it should feature in the section called “Frais de carburant” (fuel expenses) or similarly called.

There are basically four types of fuel options on offer when you take delivery of a rental car in France:

1) the "Réservoir plein-Réservoir plein" option: the tank is full and you must return the car with a full tank. If it’s not the case, you will have to make up the difference and pay extra for it (the shortage in litres). It is the most common option in France, so possibly the contract you signed.

2) The "Réservoir vide-Réservoir vide" option: empty tank/very low gauge on taking delivery of car (enough to do, say, 20 miles or so) and you’re expected to return the car with the same gauge.

3) The “Réservoir Moitié-Réservoir Moitié” option, so half-half. You get a car with a half full tank and you return it in the same state

4) The "Réservoir plein-Réservoir Vide" option: full tank on taking delivery, for which you are charged, and you’re meant to return the car with an empty tank. You won’t be reimbursed for the unused petrol left in tank, or whatever is visible on the gauge). That second option is much more common in Spain, Portugal and Italy than in France.

So, first thing to do is to establish which type of contract you signed.

If it’s 1), then it’s probably as balso says, you may have to pay relatively substantial extra costs (how much extra and the terms thereof - there can be grey areas - I believe could also depend on franchisees). If you are, say, 25 litres short of what a full tank is, expect to pay at least €80-€90 I would surmise.

Rip-offs can happen, that’s why comprehensive insurance exist for this sort of thing (they even cover “errors” or “discrepancies” on fuel). Auto Europe France seems to have a decent enough rep. I’ve used ADA and Avis quite a lot in the last 40-odd years and always been happy with them (for peace of mind I always take the “Super Cover Plus” insurance option, so the whole shebang, for about an extra €20/day).

Also check on the Net the “FAQ” section for Auto Europe ("Foire Aux Questions/Frequently Asked Questions).

During or before the hire period, you can contact Auto Europe France at the following number (should you want to ask them about your query before you deal with the actual agency): +33 974 592 518

Du lundi au vendredi: 9h00 - 20h00
Samedi: 9h00 - 18h00
Dimanche : 10h00 - 18h30

And this is the number after the car is returned:

Téléphone : +33 974 592 510
Du lundi au vendredi : 9h00 - 13h00
Samedi et dimanche : fermé

Andrea,

Avis added a 200 euro "fuel surcharge" on my card in June even though the tank was completely full. I had the receipts to prove I filled up right before dropping the car off and I got the charge removed, so I never got into it with the rep on how the amount was calculated. I would guess 200e is the cost for a completely empty tank.

Thanks for your comments. I’ll have to look at the contract I signed with Europcar. The other two rentals I had on the trip, in Ireland and Scotland, offered the option of paying up front for the tank and returning it empty. This rental didn’t offer that. Unfortunately. I’m expecting to pay more than if I had filled up myself. The unknown is how much more. It should only be for 1/4 tank of gas and my husband looked up the size of a tank on a Fiat 500 4 door car. We have a picture of the gas gauge. I’m trying not to stress over this. We are midway through week 9 of a 10 week trip and there’s not anything I can do about it at this moment. We will arrive in London later today and hopefully I’ll have time to look into the details.

I would add the 200 euro charge was on a 7 seater Renault Scenic, so assuming there was some logic to the amount it was a much bigger tank than what you were driving.

SCFamily, that’s a good point. The tank on the Fiat wasn’t very big. I haven’t heard from Europcar and there hasn’t been a charge on my credit card yet.

No problem finding sp 95 fuel in the area south of Carcassonne to the Pyrenees, and in the Haut Languedoc to the north in the last ten days. If that helps anyone.

In case anyone was wondering the outcome of returning our rental with 3/4 tank of gas because we couldn’t find fuel, we were charged €64.94 by Europcar. That was for 12 liters of gas at €3.19 per liter plus the labor cost of refueling. When I googled the size of the fuel tank for a 4 door Fiat 500 it is 9 or 9.5 gallons, or 39.747 liters. Dividing that amount to estimate 1/4 of a tank of gas it would be about 9.93 liters. That would be €31.67. That means they charged approximately £33 for labor to put a few liters of gas in the tank. Thankfully Auto Europe is going to give me a refund of $30. It’s better than nothing and I’ll take it.

For anyone who is looking to this thread, please note that the fuel shortage situation is almost totally back to normal.

There is only one French refinery where workers are continuing to strike, so things are much better now.

(The one refinery still striking is in the Rhone area, so difficulties are now most concentrated in Lyon and Burgundy according to press reporting I was reading yesterday.

Just returned from driving in central and southern France and wanted to second the previous reply about the fuel shortage generally being over. Prior to getting our car on Oct 20, we heard that shortages were connected to the strike status of the local refineries. If the refinery in your area was no longer on strike, fuel was available.

In our recent drive from Paris, Loire Valley to Provence, we found it challenging to find fuel in Paris and Tours, but the aires along the autoroutes always had fuel. By the time we ended in Marsailles Oct 30, finding fuel was no problem.

Also observed that fuel prices at grocery stores and gas stations in towns were 20-40 cents less than on the autoroute and different brands had significantly different in prices.
Had a similar experience as another poster with the pump not taking my credit card a couple of times. In one instance, I went to a different station and the card worked fine, in the other I moved the car to a different pump and that did the trick.

Most pumps had the option for instructions in English. If no CC reader was available on the pump, go ahead and fill up and then use your CC and pay inside. If you want a receipt, ask the clerk for a "ticket" - if they haven't already asked or offered you one.

And workers at the last striking refinery finally voted yesterday to end their strike.

So all French refineries are back on line, and depots operating. After 42 days, things will finally get back to normal once this last refinery comes fully back online.