Ruptly
"Truck drivers staged a protest on a major motorway south of Lyon on Saturday, slowing traffic as they voiced anger over rising fuel prices due to the Middle East conflict. Footage shows truck drivers parking their vehicles on the road and a poster reading, 'Angry haulers, goods, passengers, movers.' Police are also seen interacting with drivers at the scene. "Fuel represents 30% of a transport company's operating costs. So you can imagine a 40-cent price increase in three weeks," Jean-Christophe Gautheron, European Road Transporters spokesperson, said. "It's enough to cripple businesses. For many of them, the profit and loss statements were at zero at the end of last year," he continued. Drivers called for the return of direct subsidies introduced after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. "Why was it feasible in 2022 and not anymore?" asked Roger Desbos, a transport company manager. "We’re not asking for charity… we just want our businesses to survive." The financial strain was further detailed by Franck Goujon, owner of a small transport company in the Rhone region. "I have 15 trucks, that’s an extra €36,000, the increase of one euro per litre per month," he said. He also called for support for domestic firms, saying, "The Spanish government has lowered fuel taxes," while in France, "we’re at over 60% fuel tax… €1.50 in Spain, €2.50 in France, it's not possible." The demonstration took place on the A7 motorway near Chasse-sur-Rhône, where drivers carried out a 'slow-drive' operation and set up a filtering roadblock from the morning until early afternoon, according to local authorities and media reports. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ruled out a general cut to fuel duties, citing the risk of missing deficit reduction targets below 5% of GDP. The protest comes amid escalating tensions following joint US–Israeli military operations against Iran launched on February 28, which have disrupted energy markets, triggered retaliatory strikes, and raised concerns over fuel supply stability in import-dependent countries, including France."
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