Corsica fuel prices strategic stock release, Digi Mart USA News (Corsica, France): Drivers at gas stations across the French island of Corsica are not convinced by the government’s release of so-called strategic fuel stocks. The price at the pump has dropped by barely sixty centimes, and motorists continue to watch the meter closely at every fill-up.
At a station on the outskirts of Bastia, customers described cutting back on driving and fuel purchases. One driver said she filled her tank as infrequently as possible and limited her trips, while another said fuel was only a pretext and that the entire organization of society needed to be rethought.
According to consumer associations, the release of strategic stocks has not produced the expected effects on the island, and the situation has in fact worsened. Frédéric Poletti, president of the collective Agir contre la cherté des carburants, said prices in other regions are falling while prices in Corsica remain unchanged, adding that the island is now the third most expensive region in France.
On October 21, the Conseil d’État rejected a request filed by the collective asking the government to reconsider its refusal to regulate fuel prices in Corsica under Article L. 410-2 of the Commercial Code. The court found that the government has discretion to decide whether to regulate prices.
Poletti argued that the government uses the same article to release strategic stocks but refuses to apply it to regulate prices in Corsica. Independent pump operators on the island said that releasing the stocks at reduced prices will not be enough to effectively curb rising prices.
