Survival guide for drivers in search of fuel

Issued on: 19/10/2010 - 16:42Modified: 27/10/2010 - 09:34

Text by: FRANCE 24 Follow

Video by: Sarah DRYHURST

2 min

Faced with the fuel shortage in France, the Web has been reaching out to drivers looking for fuel. France24.com takes a look at what's still out there.

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Last updated: Wednesday, October 27 at 8:00 a.m. (GMT+2)

French Energy Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said late Tuesday that 80 percent of petrol stations were running normally. The government's priority has been motorway service stations.

Several websites are providing information for those looking for fuel in their region of France.

To find information by local department, visit the forums on the site of television programme Automoto, where Web users list stations that still have fuel, waiting times for fuel, and possible rationing rules. The forum on the site of telecom operator Orange also has information by local department.

The site Carbeo.com offers a more interactive option, showing most of the stations affected by the fuel shortage. Once you select your department from the dropdown menu at the top of the page, an interactive map will display the name and location of nearby petrol stations. The map is updated every six hours.

Twitter is also joining the race for French fuel shortage information, with a thread called “carbursolidere” offering names of some open petrol stations..

For 1.59 euros, iPhone users have access to "mobicarbu+", an application that relays the information from the site Carbeo.com and updates in real-time the list of filling stations that are out of fuel. Another application called "€ssence" allows users to communicate how much fuel remains at each station.

On the website of French oil company Total, information is provided on stations that are supposed to have fuel remaining. The site also specifies that precautionary purchases of fuel by some drivers is causing temporary shortages at certain stations. The company also provides a hotline (0 805 305 034) to answer questions.

All of the websites mentioned are in French.