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20/05/2008, 8:47 Mel Joined on 23/08/2004 Norwich - Home of Archant Posts 711 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? Can I take it from this thread that when I am back in France in a few weeks time, there is no longer any point in arriving with an ampty tank to save myself a few bob by buying French diesel? With the awful exchange rate, it sounds as though diesel is about the same price either side of the water. This week in Norwich, it is selling at £1.19 at Asda and Tesco, £1.22 at Shell and £1.26 at BP. (And I believe it is considerably dearer than that in the London/south coast areas)    Report

20/05/2008, 8:53 Ron Avery Joined on 29/11/2004 Posts 3,099 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? So you get red central heating fuel in France then Ernie? Who supplies that then? The fuel supplied to farms in the UK used to be red, but all our fuel for the heating here is yellow as Andy describes because it seems it is dyed with Solvent Yellow 124 which like red diesel can be detected. I have never seen any notes with fuel bills about keeping receipts for customs perhaps its a local thing?  They have certainly had a crack down on using red diesel in the UK Ernie, particularly in East Anglia and the Midlands if reports on local TV news stations are to be believed.  Driven away by an idiot    Report

20/05/2008, 9:53 ErnieY Joined on 05/12/2006 Nr Prayssac (Lot) Posts 2,952 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? My heating oil comes from the local supplier in the village. I don't ask him for red or anything special, I just order a delivery and it turns up. He's the same supplier the previous owners used to use so obviously knows what fuel to bring. Like you Ron I haven't seen any such notes or warnings but then I don't study the receipts that closely, I'm in too much of a state of shock at the price East Anglia was my old stomping ground but as I say, I haven't seen a roadside check for years, lorry checks yes, quite frequently, but that's the DoT doing safety checks, but checks on private cars, no. Frankly I wouldn't fancy putting domestic heating fuel in my car anyway, red or otherwise. It doesn't contain the lubricants the injection system needs so could only be used as a dilution anyway. For the amount of diesel we actually get through on a day to day basis I'd rather not risk it. Mel: it is marginal now but can still be cheaper in France if you buy wisely i.e. get off the motorway and pay with cash, a French debit card or a UK card which imposes no charges. Finding convenient supermarket petrol on a motorway trip is a very useful function of many SatNavs. Sometimes the detour is no more than a couple of km so well worth while. In UK there is (was) a book called "Just off the motorway" which showed you the whole motorway network and what was available near to each junction, petrol, supermarkets, pubs, restaurants etc. and I wonder if such a useful publication exists in France ?   My doctor said one drink per day, I can live with that !    Report

20/05/2008, 12:20 Val_2 Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 3,055 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? We have regular checks by the douannes here on all the roads regarding cheap diesel.Even my OH in his big van was asked where he bought his diesel and then they tested it to confirm. Red diesel does exist here I can tell you or the equivalent cheap stuff for the farmers and fishermen.    Report

20/05/2008, 13:23 powerdesal Joined on 07/01/2006 Sharjah U.A.E Posts 2,023 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France?  Mel wrote: Can I take it from this thread that when I am back in France in a few weeks time, there is no longer any point in arriving with an ampty tank to save myself a few bob by buying French diesel? With the awful exchange rate, it sounds as though diesel is about the same price either side of the water. This week in Norwich, it is selling at £1.19 at Asda and Tesco, £1.22 at Shell and £1.26 at BP. (And I believe it is considerably dearer than that in the London/south coast areas) Still marginally cheaper even at E1.40 (approx GBP1.12) Just of interest, cost of a gallon of diesel has risen here by 36% in one week. Its now c. E0.76 per litre. Its 3 x the price of petrol. Steve Sharjah + 50 (in France) ........................................................................... Roll on death.....Demob is too far away.    Report

20/05/2008, 14:41 Val_2 Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 3,055 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? Supplies beginning to run out here in Brittany with the blockade at the refineries, everyone is panic buying and my neighbour who grows many acres of veg is stocking up on the red diesel for his tractors.    Report

21/05/2008, 1:06 J.R's gone native Joined on 16/07/2006 Picardie, Sussex Posts 1,695 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France?  powerdesal wrote:  Mel wrote: Just of interest, cost of a gallon of diesel has risen here by 36% in one week. Its now c. E0.76 per litre. Its 3 x the price of petrol. You are just trying, and succeeding to upset us all now I remember when I travelled through Venezuela in 2004 that petrol cost the Bolivar equivalent a few cents of a US dollar per gallon, once a month it was free all weekend and loads of people travelled accross the borders to fill up but also spending money in the local economy at the same time. In fact inflation was so high that everyone wanted US dollars so if you had them you could double or treble the official exchange rate and buy gas even cheaper. The most popular cars over there were big "yank-tank" gas guzzlers of the 70's and 80's.    Report

21/05/2008, 7:35 opas Joined on 23/08/2004 catalonia, top of the hill en route to the Chateau Posts 2,175 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? Yes  definatly Red fuel here in the south too. The same garage that delivers the stuff by the tanker has a pump on his forcourt which says something to the tune of " not for domestic vehicles "  I know it is red as I have wached vans pull up and fill clear plastic jerry cans with the stuff....I assume it is used for generators and garfem mowers.    Report

21/05/2008, 8:21 powerdesal Joined on 07/01/2006 Sharjah U.A.E Posts 2,023 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? Maybe its time for this....... http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/case_studies/homebrew_biodiesel.pdf Steve Sharjah + 50 (in France) ........................................................................... Roll on death.....Demob is too far away.    Report

21/05/2008, 8:32 Pierre ZFP Joined on 12/11/2004 PdC(62)/Luxembourg Posts 1,649 Re: Impending Fuel Crisis in France? In the UK at least there are other invisible markers in the Red diesel.  I knew the customs man on the Road Fuel Testing Unit many years ago.  His 'patch' was roughly the southern half of England.  He showed me how you could take a bucket of Red, pour it through charcoal and get White out.  The testing kit he had easily picked out the other markers though. Not that I think it would do your engine much good after that.  As a routine check he had a plastic bottle and a tube which he used to dip truck tanks for a quick look at the ports etc.  He used to do diesel cars (Mercs and Land Rovers were favourite) at County Fairs and around boating marinas too, anywhere that there was easy access to Red.  Some people can't resist the temptation all though I can understand it especially when the chances of being caught are so remote. Wouldn't do it myself as apart from being just wrong I  know I would be caught first time and I prefer to sleep without worrying about such things. Diesel has shot up to €1.26 in the Grand Duchy but no queues of French vehicles at the filling stations (yet) BTW, did you know that Luxembourg has the 3 largest filling stations in the whole of Europe?  Thousands of trucks divert quite a long way to fill their tanks here, its becoming a bit of a problem causing the motorways to be backed up with trucks waiting to fill up, bit like Operation Stack I suppose. Fool me once, shame on you Fool me twice, shame on me Fool me 3 times and you can see a statistical tendency    Report

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