As people across France take to the roads for the summer holidays, three French supermarket chains – Leclerc, Intermarché and Coopérative U (previously Système U) – are offering ‘at cost price’ fuel deals on specific dates.

During the chassé-croisé – the final weekend of July where families returning home from July holidays and those heading off for August holidays will cross paths on French motorways – two chains (Intermarché and Coopérative U) will offer petrol and diesel at cost price.

READ MORE: MAP: Where to find the cheapest fuel in France

Intermarché has more than 1,500 stations in France, while Coopérative U has around 800, but it remains unclear whether all stations for the two chains will be participating in the discount operation during the chassé-croisé.

As for the scheme by the Leclerc group, it will take place over three separate weekends, involving over 700 service stations across the country, the president of the Leclerc group, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, told the French press.

Cette année encore, https://t.co/sZQSQjeVeb vend ses carburants à prix coûtant afin de protéger le pouvoir d’achat des Français, même en vacances ! pic.twitter.com/53YAHboMYw

— E.Leclerc (@Leclerc) July 18, 2024

The dates

July 19th to 21st – Leclerc service stations

July 26th to 28th – Intermarché and Coopérative U service stations

July 26th to 28th – Intermarché and Coopérative U

August 2nd to 4th – Leclerc 

August 16th to 18th – Leclerc 

How much?

As of July 19th, the average price of petrol in France was;

• €1.931 per litre for SP 98 (E5)
• €1.90 per litre for Super 98 (E10)
• €1.86 per litre for SP 95 (E5)
• €1.83 per litre for SP 95 (E10)
• €1.74 per litre for Gazole/Diesel (B7)

The chains are offering ‘at cost price’ operations, which involve the distributor making no profit and instead selling the fuel at purchasing price. 

However, in reality, there will not be a huge difference for consumers. According to reporting by BFMTV, prices at participating stations will be about €0.10 per litre lower than the averages seen at other service stations (listed above). 

According to Leclerc, their chain will offer petrol “at least €0.12 to €0.13 cheaper (per litre) than traditional Total stations.”

If you are looking to save money, you can consult the French government’s interactive map that lists the current price of fuel at filling stations across the country.

If you’re in a town it can provide a price comparison, or for long journeys help you plan your route via the cheapest filling points.

Click HERE for the full map. Also, keep in mind that prices tend to be slightly higher along the motorway. 

What about the other large supermarkets?

So far, Auchan and Carrefour have not offered any at cost price deals.

The head of Carrefour, Alexandre Bompard, told French daily Le Parisien that their preference was “to concentrate on commercial efforts to lower prices on the shelves”.

Meanwhile, TotalEnergies, which runs a large portion (3,400) of the stations across France, introduced a price cap of €1.99 per litre in 2023. This is set to remain in place during the 2024 summer.