Rural communes to receive new grant and fuel-price relief plan for isolated stations
The government announced a fresh grant for roughly 9,000 rural communes and a specific aid package to help isolated gas stations cut diesel prices.
In a video presented to the Association of Rural Mayors of France in Auch, Sébastien Lecornu announced the creation of a new, original grant for rural communes that will cover roughly 9,000 municipalities, among them 381 in the Gers department. This allocation complements a scheduled 150 million-euro increase in the global operating grant for local governments in the 2027 budget draft. To address rising fuel costs in sparsely populated areas, Lecornu also outlined a “specific response” for 339 isolated petrol stations, allowing them to reflect an anticipated diesel price drop of 12-18 cents per litre once strategic stockpiles are made available.
Prefectures will reach out to the identified stations with tailored solutions, and fuel distributors are slated to meet the minister at Matignon on Monday. At the same gathering, former Rural Minister Michel Fournier, who left the cabinet in September, will take over the presidency of the AMRF.
Why it matters
It shows the state is directing funds to sparsely populated areas and trying to lower fuel costs for remote residents.
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