Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 15, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 15, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance’s draft decree seeks to cap retail fuel margins to January–February levels, drawing fierce opposition from major distributors who warn it could force small‑margin operators to sell at a loss.
By America Hernandez
PARIS, April 15 (Reuters) - France's proposal to cap profit margins on transport fuels sold throughout the country's service stations prompted an immediate backlash from the distribution industry, according to a lobbying letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The French government said on Tuesday it had submitted for consultation a draft decree that would fix prices to ensure fuel distributors did not earn margins higher than those seen in January and February, based on a sliding five-day average of wholesale prices at Rotterdam.
It is one of a host of measures European countries are considering from Dublin to Bucharest to ease consumer pain from record high oil and fuel prices due to disruptions caused by the war in Iran.
In a letter to the prime minister dated April 14, France's Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD) argued the decree would force distributors operating on margins of 1 to 2 eurocents per litre to sell at a loss due to the lack of real-time price updates — and leave untouched the vertically integrated oil companies who they say are earning much larger profits from the crisis.
The letter, which has not been made public, was signed by Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard, Cooperative U CEO Dominique Schelcher, Mouvement E. Leclerc Executive Committee Chair Philippe Michaud, Groupement Les Mousquetaires President Thierry Cotillard, and Barthelemy Guislain, president of the Mulliez Family Association, which owns the Auchan supermarket chain.
Together the five companies represent more than a third of France's service stations, according to Reuters calculations.
"This decree would make large distribution chains the convenient variable of adjustment of a crisis it has not created... while imposing absolutely nothing on the refiner-distributors who have captured considerable gross margins since the beginning of the conflict in Iran," the letter reads.
Though not named in the letter, French oil major TotalEnergies owns three of France's six oil refineries and a quarter of the country's service stations.
TotalEnergies is expected to announce significant trading profits on Thursday in its first-quarter earnings snapshot from rising oil prices and higher refining margins.
TotalEnergies declined to comment on the letter, but said it was the only distributor in France to voluntarily cap prices at the pump.
Canadian energy group North Atlantic also recently acquired the French Esso refinery in Gravenchon, which supplies about 7% of French fuel stations.
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin and America Hernandez; Editing by Inti Landauro and Makini Brice)
The French government plans to cap profit margins on transport fuels at service stations based on early 2024 averages, to protect consumers.
Distributors argue the cap could force them to sell at a loss due to low margins and outdated price calculations, while refiners retain higher profits.
Major retail groups like Carrefour, Cooperative U, E. Leclerc, Les Mousquetaires, and Auchan, representing a third of France's stations, have voiced opposition.
TotalEnergies, owning a quarter of stations and multiple refineries, declined to comment but is the only distributor voluntarily capping pump prices.
Yes, the measure aims to curb consumer pain from record-high oil and fuel prices caused by global disruptions, notably the conflict involving Iran.
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