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FUEL

Which fuel providers in France sell the cheapest petrol and diesel?

As motorists are hit with rising petrol and diesel prices, it's important to know which providers are selling the cheapest fuel albeit much depends on where you might be driving.

Published: 26 September 2023 10:47 CEST
Updated: 26 September 2023 13:54 CEST
As fuel prices rise in France, we break down the cheapest places to fill up your car.
As fuel prices rise in France, we break down the cheapest places to fill up your car. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

Fuel prices have been on the rise in France in recent months – so much so that President Emmanuel Macron announced a new fuel subsidy to help low-income drivers, which will come into force next year. 

The government has asked fuel distributors to Carrefour, Leclerc, Intermarché, Système U, Casino and Auchan to sell at a loss – something that so far has been categorically refused.

In response, President Macron indicated that the government would push distributors to sell petrol and diesel at “cost price”. It may be some time before a universal settlement covering all service stations, which would lower bills for motorists, can be reached.

READ ALSO Who could benefit from France’s planned new fuel subsidy?

But the price you can pay for fuel in France varies widely depending on which petrol station you have stopped at, in other words Total, BP or Intermarché and also where you are driving, whether on a motorway or in a town.

The following rankings are susceptible to evolve as service stations begin to roll out special offers, from September 9th onwards. 

Non-motorway service stations

If you are filling up your car at a non-motorway service station and are looking to cut costs, you are probably best off seeking out Leclerc and Système U, while avoiding the likes of BP, Avia and ENI. 

Diesel

According to data collated by French news channel, BFMTV, the top three cheapest non-motorway service stations to buy diesel are as follows: Système U (€1.917 per litre), Leclerc (€1.918 per litre) and Auchun (€1.926 per litre).

The top three most expensive providers are BP (€2.09 per litre), Avia (€2.039) and ENI (€2.019 per litre). 

SP95-E10 (Unleaded petrol)

SP95-E10 is a commonly sold unleaded petrol blend, suitable for most cars manufactured after 2000. It contains around 90 percent regular unleaded petrol and 10 percent biofuel and is widely sold in France. 

According to the BFMTV data, the top three cheapest service stations to sell SP95-E10 are: Leclerc (€1.908 per litre), Système U (€1.912 per litre) and Intermarché (€1.92 per litre). 

The top three most expensive providers are: BP (€2.091 per litre), Avia (€2.45 per litre) and ENI (€2.04 per litre)

SP98 (Unleaded petrol)

SP98 has a higher octane content than SP95-E10 and is better suited for high-performance engines and some older cars, made before the era of unleaded petrol. It is still widely sold in France. 

The three cheapest service stations to sell SP98 are as follows: Leclerc (€1.988), Total (€1.989), Intermarché (€1.992).

The three most expensive service stations selling this fuel are: BP (€2.213), ENI (€2.141) and AVIA (€2.104).

Motorway service stations

If you want to fill up on the motorway, prices are slightly different – and generally more expensive. BP, once again, is the priciest provider across all fuel types. 

Diesel

From lowest to highest, these are the average diesel prices currently offered by the main service station operators on French motorways: Total (€1.984), Esso (€2.023), Shell (€2.127), ENI (€2.152), BP (€2.248). 

SP95-E10 (Unleaded petrol)

The lowest to highest ranking of SP95-E10 providers operating on French motorways is as follows: Total (€1.983), Esso (€2.052), ENI (€2.154), Shell (€2.169), BP (€2.252). 

SP98 (Unleaded petrol)

For SP98, the lowest to highest ranking of motorway service station providers, based on price, is as follows: Total (€1.99), Esso (€2.154), ENI (€2.261), Shell (€2.284), BP (€2.236). 

Special offers

Starting from September 29th, Leclerc is set to start selling petrol at cost price across all 750 of its fuelling stations located next to its supermarkets. This would make it the cheapest provider on the market. Company President, Michel-Edouard Leclerc has said that this would be a daily offer, but declined to say how long it would last.

Other sellers have also made special offers to sell fuel at cost price including Intermarché (29th and 30th of September, 27th and 28th of October, 24th and 26th of November, and 15th and 16th of December) and Système U (7th and 8th of October). These providers however have not committed to selling at cost price on a daily basis, unlike Leclerc. 

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For members

LIVING IN FRANCE

5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

Now that the dust has settled from the somewhat chaotic post-Brexit period, the system for swapping a UK driving licence for a French one seems to be running fairly smoothly. There are, however, some things that UK licence holders need to know.

Published: 3 May 2024 17:20 CEST
5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

This article is aimed at holders of a UK or Northern Ireland driving licence who are living in France – tourists, visitors and second-home owners can continue to drive in France on a UK licence and do not need an international driving permit.

British students who are studying in France on a student visa can continue to drive on their UK licence during their studies – if however they settle in France afterwards, they need to follow the below process for swapping their licence. 

1 You’re special

Well, maybe special is over-stating it, but the system for holders of UK and NI licence holders is different to that of other non-EU nationals, and also different to the system for EU licence holders.

The reason for this is that a pragmatic post-Brexit agreement was (finally) reached between France and the UK, in order to avoid the chaos that was triggered when thousands of Brits in France all tried to swap their driving licences at once.

Unlike almost all other post-Brexit agreements, this one applies both to people who moved to France before the end of Brexit transition period in 2021 and those who have moved here since. 

The below terms apply to everyone who has a UK or NI licence, regardless of their nationality or when they moved to France. 

2 But you still have to swap

It was technically always the case that Brits who were living in France should have swapped their licence for a French one, just as other EU licence holders do now, but in reality many people lived here for years or decades without ever exchanging their licence and there was little or no enforcement of the rule.

That has now changed and you must swap according to the following timetable;

If your UK licence was issued after January 1st, 2021 – you must swap within one year of moving to France.

If your UK licence was issued before January 1st 2021 – you only swap when you meet one of the following conditions;

  • The licence itself or the photocard is within six months of its expiry date. For more people the photocard expiry will come around first, but UK licences also require renewal when the holder reaches the age of 70
  • Your licence has been lost or stolen
  • You have been ordered to exchange your licence by a gendarme after committing a driving offence

For people who are exchanging because the licence is about to expire, it is important that you don’t start the process until your licence is within six months of the expiry date – early applications will simply be rejected.

3 It might not be as much of a nightmare as you think 

Unlike the old days when licence swaps were done by préfectures, the whole process has now moved online and is run through a single, central system.

The online portal for requesting a swap is known as ANTS and you can find it HERE.

If you haven’t used it before you will need to create an online account, or if you already have online accounts for French government services such as Ameli or tax declarations you can login by clicking on the France Connect button.

Once logged in, select Je demande l’échange ou l’enregistrement de mon permis de conduire étranger (I request the exchange or registration of a foreign driving licence) and fill in the details requested on the form such as name, address etc.

You might be pleasantly surprised by the fact the form itself is relatively straightforward (as French admin forms go), asking basic questions such as your personal details and the details of your driving licence.

You will have to upload supporting documents, but these are likely to be things that you already have to hand including

  • Proof of ID (passport or carte de séjour)
  • Proof of address (a recent utility bill or attestation from your utility provider)
  • If your driver’s licence is in a different name to your passport, you will need to supply your full birth certificate

You will also need to supply a photo – you can either use the internet-enabled Photomaton booths – find your nearest here – to create a digital photo with the required security code, or you can use the normal photo booths to print out a physical photo and send it by post after you have made your application. 

Once completed, you can use the ANTS site to track the progress of your application and upload any other documents that are requested.

4 But don’t leave it too late 

If you’re applying because your licence is about to expire then you cannot apply until you are within six months of the expiry date.

But it’s a good idea not to leave it until the last minute as the whole process does take time – things have improved massively since the dark days of 2020 and 2021 when people were waiting for years and their licences expired while they waited.

But it still takes time – the current average for a straightforward application with no extra documents required seems to be between four and five months, although processing times can vary, especially over holiday periods.

It’s therefore a good idea to make the application fairly soon after you enter that magic six-month window.

Once you make the application you should get an automated response acknowledging receipt – this is usually sent by SMS and/or email, it’s a good idea to check your spam folder if you don’t get the email.

Don’t panic if you don’t then hear anything for the next few weeks or even months, this appears to be normal. If your application is complete and there are no outstanding queries or other documents required, the next step will be a request to send in your old UK licence.

You send this by post (recorded delivery with a signature is strongly recommended) and at the same time you can download an Attestation de Depot de Permis de Conduire (certificate of deposit of driving licence) – you can use this to prove your continued entitled to drive in the period between sending in your old licence and receiving your new one.

Your French licence is then sent by registered post, and the window between posting the old licence and receiving the new one is usually not more than a month, you 

5 Help is out there 

If your application runs into problems or you have an untypical situation or find the ANTS website hard to use, don’t panic – help is available.

The Facebook group Driving in France – French Licence Applications is a good place to start with comprehensive guides and knowledgeable admins who are quick to respond to questions.

You can also chat to others in your situation and get updates on how long processing times seem to be.

If you have problems using the online system, your local France Services office may be able to help.

You can also head to The Local’s reader questions section, or email us at [email protected] if you have questions.

Digital licences

You might have heard about France’s new digital driving licence – unfortunately this is only available to people who have French citizenship (including dual nationals).

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