Throughout France, the local press reports that the oil giant’s service stations were attacked as soon as the introduction on Thursday, September 1 of a reduction of 20 cents (in addition to the 30 cents given by the State). Saint-Avold , Villefranche-sur-Saône, Autun, Romilly-sur-Seine… There are countless articles from the local press reporting the same scene each time: since Thursday, Total’s service stations have been facing a veritable raz- de-tide of motorists who have come to take advantage of the commercial gesture of the oil giant, which has chosen to lower prices at the pump even further than the reduction supported by the government allows. Instead of the thirty centimes less, the rebate was increased to fifty centimes per litre. The result was not long in coming: long queues have formed in recent days at the entrance to the stations. To the point that in places, the gendarmes even had to intervene to maintain calm while tempers were heating up. Images of impressive queues of cars, especially at the entrance to these stations, which are generally less crowded than those of supermarkets where the price is usually cheaper, have been relayed by many Internet users waiting before being able to make the full. According to La Voix du Nord, the price difference between a Total station and another gas pump was even more spectacular in the border area: it was thus a half-hour wait in Roncq or Halluin to refuel this Saturday ; as for the stations of Coulogne, Valenciennes, Calais or even Condé-sur-l’Escaut, there was already not a drop of fuel left this weekend. A Belgian motorist interviewed by the regional daily explained as follows: “Here, it makes 15 cents of difference with the pumps in Belgium. It’s funny. Before, it was you French people who came to us to fill up. Now, it’s the opposite.” To read also Fuel: what other European countries are doing to cushion the price increase Motorists only have two months to take advantage of it, because the reductions (that of Total like that of the State) should decrease from November 1, to be definitively suspended at the beginning of winter.