The consequences of the war in the Middle East are beginning to be felt at the pumps of French service stations: the government notes "a rise of a few cents" in prices and has warned that checks will take place to ensure that this inflation remains "reasonable".

The price of gasoline "is currently rising by a few cents," Economy Minister Roland Lescure told Franceinfo on Wednesday, a rise that he described as "normal given the increase in the price of oil."

But "today, in more than 97% of the territory, there is no problem, that is to say we are in a normal situation where we have petrol everywhere," he tempered, calling for "keeping calm".

The Minister Delegate for Energy and government spokesperson, Maud Bregeon, stated that "in the short term, we can expect an increase of a few cents, contained and limited", specifying that this was an average and that there will be "differences from one service station to another", on BFMTV/RMC.

"What happens next will depend on the intensity of the conflict," she said, assuring that there is "no risk of supply disruption" due to "stocks" and diversified imports.

Roland Lescure indicated that checks would take place to ensure that fuel price increases are "reasonable" compared to the "rise in the price of a barrel" of oil, "which is also relatively reasonable today".

"I asked the DGCCRF," the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, which reports to his ministry, "to carry out checks" to "make sure that we are indeed dealing with price increases that are, I would say, reasonable given the rise in the price of a barrel," he said.

"Speculation can start quickly."

On Sunday evening, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, president of the strategic committee of E.Leclerc centers, which are French leaders in mass distribution, estimated that a "clear rise in the markets" for hydrocarbons was "to be expected".

"As a reminder, due to the conflict in Ukraine and European sanctions against Russia, prices had reached historic highs in March (2022, editor's note), 2.248 euros per liter on average" in service stations bearing the Leclerc brand, he declared on X.

"Although Leclerc's purchases are for finished products and not raw materials, speculation can start quickly," he added.

Underlining the "great unpredictability of the extent of the conflict in time and space", Maud Bregeon said on Wednesday that it was "far too early to draw any definitive conclusions".

Asked about the possibility of measures to be taken to compensate for a marked increase, she replied that it was "much too early to talk about that" and that the priority was to work on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Gulf, through which a significant portion of the world's gas and oil passes daily.

Ms. Bregeon notably judged "premature" the proposal made earlier on Wednesday on RTL by the leader of the National Rally (RN) deputies, Marine Le Pen, to lower fuel taxes to compensate for the increases.

The National Rally (RN) has been calling for several years for a reduction in VAT on fuels, heating oil, and gas from 20% to 5.5%. The party is also calling for a reduction in the excise tax on petroleum products (formerly TICPE), because "it would be untenable for the State to enrich itself at the expense of the French people by taking advantage of the international crisis," said RN president Jordan Bardella on Monday on X.

"Faced with the risks of soaring energy prices caused by the situation in the Middle East, the French State and the European Union must anticipate now the consequences for the daily lives of the French," he said.

Maud Bregeon deemed it "inconceivable" to lower VAT and TICPE, which would create a hole of nearly 20 billion euros in the state budget.

"It is likely that the price of petrol will increase by a few cents and the response from the RN is a state expenditure of 20 billion euros. Everyone can see that this is completely incoherent," she added.