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Advice on current fuel situation in France

briwy

briwy

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Location
Matlock & Pyrenees
Vehicle
T5 SE 180 4Motion
A strike here means fuel isn't getting through to garages so if you are heading over make sure you fill up in the UK.
Seems it's worse in the north. I just nipped out to fill up at our local garage in the Pyrenees and no problem there at the moment.
TV news full of blockages and some violence at garages where are queues and twenty litre allowances.
 
Belgian gasstations near the French border are having many French to fill up , was in the national news.
 
A mate got badly caught out making his way home from a super moto race in Germany at the weekend. A kind local drove to Belgium and brought back 18l of very expensive fuel!
 
Im booked on the Dieppe ferry on Friday
630 miles away.
Guess Ill find out just how far a 180 4Motion will go on a tankful :)
 
briwy said:
A strike here means fuel isn't getting through to garages so if you are heading over make sure you fill up in the UK.
Seems it's worse in the north. I just nipped out to fill up at our local garage in the Pyrenees and no problem there at the moment.
TV news full of blockages and some violence at garages where are queues and twenty litre allowances.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the warning. We're driving down to Austria on Friday. I was weighing up whether to drive down through France or Germany. France is quicker but Germany has no tolls. I think the potential fuel issues settle the matter. A German route it is.
 
DM said:
Thanks for the warning. We're driving down to Austria on Friday. I was weighing up whether to drive down through France or Germany. France is quicker but Germany has no tolls. I think the potential fuel issues settle the matter. A German route it is.
Click to expand...

So yet again the unions and the government clash, and we decide to spend our euro elsewhere. When will the French learn the knock on effects are so harmful.

For example last May I was off on a motorbike tour in Spanish Pyrenees, and supposed to be travelling by ferry from Pompey to Caen and motoring down. However a strike at Caen port meant I was forced to change plans and ended up taking ferry to Santander (and back). Net result no money spent on French soil for fuel, tolls, hotels, food, drinks and this probably saved me considerably over the increased ferry cost.

This Easter I flew 6,000 miles to Vietnam however I had to change planes at Paris CDG, a flash strike by air traffic controllers delayed our arrival by an hour. As a consequence the luggage handlers cocked up and I arrived without any luggage for 24 hours....

These are just 2 examples that have affected me in the last year, if I think back further there are certainly plenty more.

I will be making a conscious effort to avoid France (unless it's for skiing!) for the foreseeable future, which is sad as I speak the language and love the people and lifestyle very much.
 
Any views on how long this fuel shortage may have a residual impact? I'm considering a trip to Atlantic coast mid June.
 
We are travelling from Roscoff to San Sebastian in June, just checked on Google maps and it's 563 miles which is achievable with care on a full tank.
 
Can any of our French members throw any light on this? There is not much in the news about it which makes me think it is not a big deal. Seems mainly the North and North West that is affected.
 
Rich20 said:
Can any of our French members throw any light on this? There is not much in the news about it which makes me think it is not a big deal. Seems mainly the North and North West that is affected.
Click to expand...

It seems to be only just begining
 
Gavinskii said:
So yet again the unions and the government clash, and we decide to spend our euro elsewhere. When will the French learn the knock on effects are so harmful.
Click to expand...

I think standing up to their own government is part of the National identity, and has been part of the countries personality ever since the French revolution.

I have a couple of French friends, they both seemed to value equality very highly. I don't know if this is reflective of the Nation as a whole though. Next time I meet them I will ask about it.

The government is trying to reduce their employment rights and give more powers to employers to reduce wages and hire and fire more easily. They also did it without a proper vote, sneaking it in via a special decree, to get it passed.
 
I decided to leave early from the Pyrenees as I reckkn the longer it goes on the worse the shortages will be.
set off with a full tank, filled up just south if Bordeaux now near Poitiers and not seen a queue or any problems anywhere so far.
Ive been keeping it at around sixty on the motorway so conserve fuel. So far the display is showing 43.5 mpg. Pretty good for a 180 4motion. Surprisingly working it out from the brimful tank and mileage the display is reading low by a couple of mpg. Didnt expect that.
Ill see what its like further north tomorrow.
Incidently one port has already be blockaded. Never heard of itbut hooefully it won't spread.
 
We are heading from Dunkerque to Genoa via Chamonix into Italy on Monday so will brim in Dover and take a 20ltr jerry with me to be safe, otherwise I'll detour through belgium and Lux.
 
Drove from Barcelona to Bergerac yesterday. No problem on autoroute service areas with fuel, as far as we could see.
Agree with above comments, France is gradually going downhill
Enough said or i will be accused of something or another

John
 
johntowers46 said:
Drove from Barcelona to Bergerac yesterday. No problem on autoroute service areas with fuel, as far as we could see.
Click to expand...

sounds Hellish - chin chin.
 
It is not permitted to take fuel in jerry cans on ferries I think... We are off to Brittany at end of next week, and looking at mitigation measures.... Any other ideas?
 
greenfintry said:
It is not permitted to take fuel in jerry cans on ferries I think... We are off to Brittany at end of next week, and looking at mitigation measures.... Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
It seems to be a grey area. Definitely no petrol in cans. Possibly Diesel with some operators. Eurotunnel does allow fuel in approved containers.
 
Hi fellow travelers to France,

Here is the original live map that all the newspaper reports are referring to.
Note that strike-through petrol stations are completely closed.
On others with the orange colour you can right-click to see which fuels are sold out (essence is petrol, gasole is diesel).
Also be aware that stations in the affected regions (all France is affected by the way) that are not closed, may have large queues.

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

The site is quite busy of course, so maybe you'll have to be patient for a few minutes before it opens.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.
 
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