French households are spending as much as a month's salary a year on fuel as global oil prices climb, according to a report broadcast by TF1info on 9 September 2026. Since the end of July 2026 the price of a barrel of oil has climbed past 100 dollars, and TF1info said fear among French drivers that the price of a litre could approach three euros has never been stronger.
The broadcaster illustrated the trend with the case of Stéphanie, a homemaker, and Alexis, who works in construction and takes home 1,400 euros net a month, the level of the SMIC, France's minimum wage. Together the couple spend up to 250 euros a month filling up two diesel cars, TF1info reported.
Rural households feel it most
A recent study cited by TF1info found that fuel spending weighs even more heavily on households in the countryside than in cities. Rural residents typically face longer journeys to work and to other destinations, the study found, and often have more modest incomes than people living in towns and cities.
TF1info categorised the report under the Eure-et-Loir department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region of central France.
A minimum wage under pressure
The SMIC is France's statutory minimum wage, which sets a base monthly income for workers across the country. Alexis's net pay of 1,400 euros a month places him at that level, meaning the household's fuel bill of up to 250 euros a month takes up a significant share of its income.
In France, pump prices for diesel and petrol include a fuel tax known as the TICPE, on top of the cost of crude oil, refining and distribution, so movements in the price of crude do not always translate directly into the price drivers pay at the forecourt.
TF1info reported that many motorists it spoke to said they were having to limit spending on many other things because of the cost of filling their tanks.
Oil prices climbing worldwide
Oil is traded internationally in dollars per barrel, using benchmarks such as Brent crude, and the cost of crude is one of the main factors behind the price drivers pay at the pump. A barrel price above 100 dollars has historically been associated with higher costs for drivers and added pressure on household budgets. TF1info has separately reported that fuel and gas prices have surged around the world amid the war in the Middle East.
The report follows a string of TF1info stories this year on the unexpected knock-on effects of expensive fuel, including motorists cutting other spending to cope with rising bills at the pump, and the impact of costlier fuel on French drivers' summer holiday travel. In mid-July 2026 the broadcaster reported that pump prices had climbed back above two euros a litre, and it reported a further sharp rise in prices later that month.
The report aired as part of TF1info's evening news programme, the JT 20h, which has tracked the rise in French fuel prices since the summer of 2026.
