Geoff Tuckley Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Supposed to be travelling to Spain via Calais tomorrow but think it might now be worth trying to get a ferry to Santander or Bilbao to avoid all the problems. It is difficult to judge just how bad the fuel problem is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 At 13.00 French time the president of the petrol union said that the situation is calm after a bad day yesterday and that delviveries are taking place all over France to service stations and airports. This is due mostly to allowing 44 ton lorries to make deliveries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Travelled from Spain to Calais on Thursday and encountered no fuel problems then, maybe just a bit too soon for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Had a call last night from friends who are in Angers (Payes de Loire) they managed to get fuel but were rationed to 30 litres. They have enough fuel for 400 miles and then they are stuck unless things improve. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Bad news for anyone travelling with an animal. I have just phoned DEFRA quarantine and asked if people had actually booked in for the ferry but it was delayed would the animal be allowed to travel? He did not know but rang me back and said, "No - the animal would have to be treated again". I have posted the address of the nearest vet to the port (by Bleriot Plage) on the other thread - Returning with dog to GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 One of those nagging thoughts ! Do the ferries run on diesel ? and do they normally fill up on the French side because it is cheaper than the UK ? Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 No idea, but I am stuck in Spain and cannot get home, have tried Santander but they want £600 onw way. Probably go Italy, Swiss,Belgium. So good and bad, need to be home but at least we have the compensation of Sunshine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Still not sure really how bad it is. I went passed the local supermarket this afternoon and all pumps were being used but no queue. Later on I went to the local garage and filled my little car - no problem at all, no rationing etc. but the 95 essence was 1.44 ltr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Hi, if it`s of any use to anyone in france or due to go, there is a story on a english owned website in france which has a link to a site showing all the fuel stations in france. Red pins show stations with limited or no fuel. Story on www.guide2poitoucharentes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Hi Casey Thanks for the link but unfortunately the whole map is now obliterated by red pins! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojitoes Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Hi Casey Thanks for the link but unfortunately the whole map is now obliterated by red pins! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Even if the strikers regarding increasing the Pension age go back tomorrow, I can only see the problem escalating as the Refinery workers will still be out. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/France-Strikes-Petrol-Stations-Run-Dry-As-Protests-Turn-Violent-With-Police-And-Students-Clashing/Article/201010315760447?lpos=World_News_First_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15760447_France_Strikes%3A_Petrol_Stations_Run_Dry_As_Protests_Turn_Violent_With_Police_And_Students_Clashing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magbrin Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 With care, and a direct route ,we could get through France without having to fill up - although we would prefer to see some of France on our way to Spain. According to Casey's map there are areas in the mid- and west- south where fuel has not run out - and if you zoom in the picture looks better :-D :-D :-D 2 questions: Has anyone any experience of ferry disruption and if so where and which company? Is the weather in France as bad as it is here - snow and frost in Scotland, today. BBC forecast looks as if it is best to head straight to Spain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I chatted with a friend last night who is touring Brittany, he managed to fill twice yesterday. Once at €1.36 per litre at a garage and at €1.13 in a Hypermarket. That was in rural Brittany, they move on to the coast today. There still seems to be fuel about the problem is finding it. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 As of yesterday no problems in the depths of the Auvergne although prices may have increased a bit local Simply selling at 1.16 and private service stations at 1.26. One garage in Clermond Ferrand was noted as having run out of supplies and so maybe the A75 would be ok for the journey south? There is a Simply in Aubrac where I usually fill up and it is easy to leave the autoroute to find small service stations in the countryside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 We returned from France yesterday (20 October). We had planned to come back next Sunday (24 October) but, as soon as it was reported (14 October) that vehicle-fuel was to become part of the 'negotiations', we immediately decided to head for home. On 14 October we overnighted at the campsite at Montmorillon and, fortunately, we had refilled the motorhome's fuel-tank that morning at a local supermaket. The next day there were already long queues at supermarket service-stations and, by the following day, all the supermarkets we passed by had run out of diesel, though some still had stocks of higher-octane petrol. Although I knew we could reach the Caen ferry-port on the fuel taken on board at Montmorillon, I had topped up the tank on 15/10 at a supermarket below Laval and, on 16/10, at a service-station on the autoroute between Laval and Poiters. On 19/10 the occasional small roadside service-station was still advertising availability of diesel, but even the Vallee de la Vire service-station on the A84 autoroute near St Lo had most of its pumps cordoned off and (although I didn't actually confirm this) there seemed to be a restriction on the quantity of fuel being allowed to each customer. To the best of my knowledge, cross-Channel ferry services remain unaffected by the current fuel shortages, presumably because they can re-supply in the UK. However, there was always the risky that truckers/activists might choose to blockade the ferry ports, and it was this possibility as much as the lack of fuel that encouraged us to come home early. When I rang Brittany Ferries to revise our crossing date, they said that they were very busy as lots of other people were doing the same thing. Although, as the French government has been keen to state, there is probably still plenty of fuel available in France NATIONALLY, the main players (ie. the large supermarket chains) in the more populous areas all seem to have run out. Certainly that's true in North and Central France. Regarding the weather, we crossed to France on 10 October and had marvellous warm Summery weather until 19/10 when it rained off-and-on for much of the day. If I remember correctly, the general weather forecast for France for the rest of the week is cloudy, dry and not too cold for the upper tw-thirds of the country, and sunny and warmish towards the South. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Here is a website that shows which filling stations are closed. http://www.carbu.fr/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 A useful website that paints a daunting picture for the tourist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Randonneur - 2010-10-21 9:45 AM Here is a website that shows which filling stations are closed. http://www.carbu.fr/ Thanks for that very useful, have posted it on the other main M/H forums. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 magbrin - 2010-10-20 7:16 AM With care, and a direct route ,we could get through France without having to fill up - although we would prefer to see some of France on our way to Spain. Margaret, where in France are you starting from to get to Spain, I don't think you would be able to do it on a tankfull from any of the Channel Port's no matter how carefull you are. To many 'if's' and 'but's' under presant condition's. But good luck to you if you try it, Safe journey.Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magbrin Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 I appreciate the information posted. At present I am on new granny duty so away from husband and van but as far as I am aware - from memory - the van takes enough diesel for 660 miles and (again from memory) Le Havre - Biarritz is 540 miles That should get us over the border, if necessary. I do not think that things are so bad further south but I would be grateful for any infomation from anyone in the area. We were thinking of Dover Calais (and may still be) but possibility of pickets at Calais is probably greater than Le Havre - and it is further away from the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-10-21 11:20 AM A useful website that paints a daunting picture for the tourist. It paints a daunting picture for us also, we have booked to go to the UK from Calais in about 10 days and are hoping that it is over by then. We are going in the car but from where we are to Calais is 500 miles and I think a full tank on our 1.8 Diesel Focus will probably get us about 400 miles, we will have to check the tank capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 I suspect too that the information on the French website may be optimistic. There is a large service-station next to the Carrefour supermarket on the Caen side of the Ouistreham ferry-port. This was very definitely closed when we passed it last Wednesday morning. The French website suggests that there is still fuel to be had there, but I find it difficult to believe that this is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertandjean Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Hi, Still in South West France, now on aire at Henday Plage. Many French vanners still on move so most be picking up fuel somewhere! Leaving on way to Calais on Monday so will see how it goes, but have route planned to make use mainly of aires with electric hook-ups so if turns cold (around 21 degrees with sun today) can hold for a few days, as also running low on LPG. Does not look as though it will be over any time soon as new National strikes called for this Thursday (Oct. 28) and then Nov 6. Best not to move far on these days as roads often blocked by slow moving trucks. But not worried will get back sometime and certainly never thought of coming back early! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 I have heard that some ATMs may be empty because the people who fill them with notes are on strike so make sure you have enough cash with you. In some areas the industrial action is increasing - the airport at Clermont-Ferrand was blockaded this morning and there were problems at several others including Lyon where things are getting violent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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