INTERVIEW
Faced with Covid-19, the French are likely to be numerous after May 11 to take their car for fear of the risk of transmission in public transport. Enough to hope for a beneficial effect for service stations, which saw their activity reduced like a skin of sorrow during confinement. "The activity has contracted up to 90%, especially in rural areas, which worries us a lot", indicates to the microphone of Europe 1 Francis Pouce, the president of the service stations branch of the National Council of the professions of the automobile(CNPA).
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A serious risk of bankruptcy
"According to a recent survey of our members, 5% believe that they will not manage to cross this period, and 50% believe that without a sustained activity from May 11, they will be in bankruptcy", specifies Francis Pouce . But with the implementation of a progressive deconfinement, the chances of returning to an activity similar to that before the health crisis already seem compromised. This leaves the CNPA to fear massive bankruptcies, especially in the countryside.
"Only 30% of French stations belong to an oil company, the remaining 70% are in the hands of independents, whose business it is and which are responsible for investment. From the moment they do will no longer have the means to invest, there will be breakage… a lot of breakage ", continues Francis Pouce. "We are reflecting with the government on alternative financing solutions", he slips without being able to give more details at this stage.
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An impact on distribution
Paradoxically, the bankruptcy of many service stations could also have serious consequences for the ecological transition. "We absolutely have to find a solution to be able to continue distributing the fuel of today and tomorrow in the countryside. Tomorrow we will run on hydrogen, on compressed natural gas. If the network is no longer there, it will be complicated to distribute these new energies more finely ", warns Francis Pouce.