How to refuel when driving in France? In France, gas stations are widely available and easy to find, especially in urban areas. Most gas stations are open 24 hours a day, although some may have limited hours on weekends or holidays. To refuel your car, simply pull up to a pump and insert your fuel card or pay with cash. Gasoline in France is sold in liters, with unleaded gasoline (essence) being the most common type. It's important to note that French gas stations do not typically provide self-service fueling, so you will need to ask an attendant to pump your gas for you. Additionally, many gas stations require payment before pumping the fuel, so be sure to have cash or a credit card ready. If you're unsure about where to find a gas station, you can use a GPS or map app on your phone to locate one nearby. Additionally, many French highways have gas stations located along the side of the road, so keep an eye out for these as you drive ?
1 Answer
Fuel summary: French fuel prices are in line with international oil prices, with gasoline costing around 1.49 euros per liter and diesel being slightly cheaper. Self-service fueling is the main method at gas stations, with support for cash and credit card payments. Local fueling terms: Refueling: faire le plein Gasoline: essence Diesel: diesel/gazole/gas-oil/gasoil How to distinguish between diesel and gasoline: At French gas stations, green fuel nozzles are marked with ESSENCE or SP95/SP98 for gasoline, while yellow or black nozzles are marked with DIESEL or GAZOLE for diesel. Common types of gasoline include SP95 (95 octane unleaded gasoline) and SP98 (98 octane unleaded gasoline), which some gas stations may refer to as Eurosuper 95, Superplus 98, etc. Sometimes you may come across SP95 E10 gasoline, which refers to 95 octane unleaded gasoline blended with 10% ethanol. Fuel pump usage instructions: All gas stations in France are self-service, with generally two methods of fueling: One is payment with a credit card, which accounts for nearly 90% of gas stations in France. You must first insert the credit card, enter the PIN, remove the card, select the type of fuel, and then self-service fueling. Once the tank is full, the pump will automatically shut off, and then you can return the nozzle to its original position, and the machine will automatically print the receipt. However, these machines usually only recognize chip-enabled credit cards. The other method is to refuel and then pay at the cash register. After refueling, you can go to the manned counter (CAISSE) to make payment, just by providing the pump number to the cashier. Fueling precautions: Some self-service card-swiping machines at gas stations only accept chip-enabled credit cards, not magnetic stripe cards. It is recommended to prepare a chip card in advance. Recommended local gas stations: Total is recommended.