Your editorial, "Petrol Panic? Not in France" (The Argus, September 13), gets it wrong when it says the reason there is no panic buying in France is because the authorities have powers to ration petrol, whereas here it is self-imposed.
In the first place, petrol is cheaper in France, so there is less chance of fuel protests.
Secondly, the French government has threatened to put a special tax on oil companies if they raise prices too much. Prices have not risen dramatically, thus reducing the need for protests and panic buying.
Thirdly, imagine the consequences of rationing petrol to private motorists over there. The UK fuel protests a few years ago would seem like a picnic in comparison to what would happen in France, as any Prefect there would know.
It is not the motorists who need to get a grip - it is the Government which needs to create the conditions to prevent this kind of panic.
-Andrew Abaza, Brighton
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