Rising fuel prices: state aid is “not up to par”, say truck drivers

Could do better. The Organization of European Road Transporters (OTRE) on Saturday judged the government’s announcements of targeted aid to come to the aid of the sectors most affected by the surge in fuel prices as “not up to par”, even if it sees it as a “significant step forward”.

The announcement of “targeted flat-rate aid for road hauliers those most weakened by the crisis, in great difficulty constitutes a significant step forward which, however, requires clarification in its terms and scope,” writes OTRE in a press release.

But, adds the organization, the total envelope of 50 million euros announced by the government “does not seem commensurate with the seriousness of the situation, the difficulties encountered by the professionals concerned, nor the measures which had been taken in 2022”. At the time, the envelope amounted to 400 million euros, recalls the truckers’ union.

“This aid therefore appears very undersized”, she continues, affirming that if it were to be maintained as it is, “the consequences could be dramatic” with a social and economic cost due to layoffs and bankruptcies which could “be much higher than the amount announced”.

70 million euros in aid overall

OTRE says it hopes that this is only a “first step” in the face of the crisis the sector is going through. According to OTRE, “the acceptability of such a measure is conditional by the carriers on immediate payment of aid, simple, clear access conditions and truly accessible to all companies” in the sector.

The overall aid announced by the government on Friday amounts to nearly 70 million euros, targeted and limited to the month of April, for the benefit of the fishing, agricultural and transport sectors. The transport sector benefits from a boost of 50 million euros for VSEs and SMEs, which will receive the equivalent of 20 euro cents per liter of fuel.

But these announcements did not convince. Truck drivers demonstrated on Saturday on the A7 motorway near Chasse-sur-Rhône (Isère) to denounce the rise in fuel prices and ask the State for more significant aid than that announced.

The bosses are also disappointed

Same story from the CPME, the second representative employers’ organization, which also asked the government on Saturday to expand the targeted measures, considered insufficient, which were announced to help the sectors most affected by the surge in fuel prices.

“We support (…) the activation and expansion of exceptional, urgent and targeted, simple and accessible measures, in addition to the first provisions decided by the government for the month of April alone,” indicates the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises in a press release.

For her, the announcements made by the government on Friday “go in the right direction, but they constitute an insufficient start given the scale of the shock”.