“They make huge margins”: Sophie Binet calls for the “freezing” of fuel prices at 1.70 euros per liter

She calls on the government to act. In an interview published this Monday evening by Ouest-France, the general secretary of the CGT Sophie Binet calls for “a freeze on energy prices”. “We should set a maximum price at the pump, of €1.70 for example, by limiting the selling prices of oil tankers,” she added, while the representative unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC) will be received this Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. by the Minister of the Economy and Finance Roland Lescure on the question of fuel prices and inflation.

“They are making huge margins and record profits. In March, TotalEnergies traders speculated on the crisis and made a billion profits,” Sophie Binet also denounced. “Taxes should be modulated, depending on energy prices and, in the medium term, VAT should be 5.5% on all essential products including energy. We are campaigning for the return of regulated tariffs on gas and electricity prices, set according to production costs and not the market,” Sophie Binet also proposed in the columns of Ouest France.

The CGT wants to tax oil companies’ surplus profits

Asked about a possible tax on excess profits from oil companies, Sophie Binet called for “taxing profits, dividends and very high incomes”. “It is also necessary to put in place real measures to end dependence on fossil fuels: planning in which, for example, we require French car manufacturers to produce a small, inexpensive electric vehicle in France,” she added.

In France, diesel and SP95-E10 gasoline were sold this Sunday respectively at 2.307 euros and 2.014 euros per liter on average, according to an AFP calculation of the prices reported by service stations to a government site. This represents an increase of 17% for gasoline prices since February 27, the day before the first Israeli-American strikes on Iran, and of 34% for diesel. Bercy announced this Friday that new estimates of the cost of the crisis would be published during a public finance alert committee on April 21.

Faced with this situation, the Ministry of the Economy announced this Friday evening the upcoming launch of a “flash fuel loan” with Bpifrance, to support the cash flow of the most exposed small businesses. Sums of 5,000 to 50,000 euros can be loaned at a rate of 3.80%, without guarantees, to VSEs (very small businesses) and SMEs (small and medium-sized businesses) in eligible sectors: transport, agriculture, fishing, whose fuel expenses represent “at least 5% of turnover”, Bercy had specified.