But unlike last year, there is virtually no means of alleviating the bill: the government gives no new discounts at the pump, and distributors offer little or no promotional offers. For example, Intermarché, System U, Carrefour and Auchan, who were contacted on September 4, are not making any commercial offers. Leclerc, for his part, did not want to comment. Without publicly stating their position, some actors justify themselves: ‘Fuel is a loss leader on which we make virtually no margin’pleads a distributor. “We can’t do better, price competition is already very strong”says another.