Maximilien Carlier (in Hertain, Belgium) 07:42, October 07, 2022

The fear of running out of fuel.

The galley continues for motorists in Hauts-de-France where the shortage of gasoline is felt.

The supply difficulties are due to a strike action in a depot.

In the region, stations are closed, fuel is lacking.

The only solution: to go to Belgium. 

In Hertain, on the Belgian border, in front of the Q8 petrol station, there is a long line of motorists and only French license plates.

Christophe has only been patient for about twenty minutes.

It's bearable, he says.

"In the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, it's five times the queue in Belgium. In France, I drove everywhere and couldn't find petrol, even at night". 

"Given the context of shortage, we don't really look at the price"

Except that the price indicated here is not the same as in France.

1.90 euros per liter of diesel, or twenty cents more than in France, but this is not a problem for Thérèse and Emma: "It's more expensive, but frankly, I don't want to spend my days waiting. At the moment, given the context of shortage, I think that we do not look so much at the price."

>> Find all the editorial newspapers of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

Sullivan, one of the managers of this Belgian gas station, is obliged to make traffic.

The French had kind of disappeared with the government bonuses.

He is very happy to see them again. 

Belgian gas station attendants rub their hands

"At the beginning of September, it was calmer. There, we make up for the lost blows as they say... It's been a job and so much the better. For five days, there's been all the time in the world. It's been 10 years since I works here and I had never seen it before. Even at night, there is a lot of traffic," he explains.

Some French motorists come at three o'clock in the morning to fill up and even take the opportunity to fill their jerry can or can of gasoline, which is prohibited in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais.