As fuel prices are temporarily becoming a lot cheaper in France than in Belgium from today, lines of Belgian cars are forming at gas stations just across the French border.
As announced at the end of July, the prices for diesel and petrol in France are dropping as the country's authorities temporarily increased the discount on excise duties to €0.30/litre and supplier TotalEnergies added a €0.20/litre discount on top.
In Belgium, diesel can cost up to €2.10/litre, while the maximum price in France is currently €1.67/litre – a difference of over €0.40, or about €20 on a 50-litre tank. While the waiting lines are growing, a queueing Belgian woman told local Focus WTV news outlet that for this kind of reduction, "the wait was well worth it."
'Tank tourism'
Belgian gas station owners fear this so-called 'tank tourism,' as it means that people living close to the French border will cross it to fill up their tank, rather than pay a higher price in Belgium.
"The price difference with Belgium is becoming so great that we fear for the competitive position of our gas stations in the border region," Johan Mattart of the federation of fuel traders Brafco told Belga News Agency, calling on the Belgian government to further reduce excise duties.
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The Federal Government is currently already applying a €0.175/litre discount on petrol and diesel at the pump, but European regulations allow a further reduction, according to Mattart.
This would mean that the difference between Belgium, France and Germany would become smaller. "It is a punishment that so-called 'tank tourism' is developing in a unified Europe. That is not healthy for the market."
In the meantime, filling up with petrol in Belgium will become 7 cents cheaper from Friday, meaning that the maximum price for a litre of petrol 95 (E10) will be €1,715 – a decrease of 7.3 cents. The price for petrol 98 (E5), too, drops by 7.5 cents to €1.918/litre, announced the FPS Economy on its website.
