44.37 liters of diesel were poured into the tank of one of the newspaper’s cars, which can hold 45. Gasoline was not far off.
Like everyone else, the search for fuel for editorial vehicles is a headache. On this Tuesday evening, 11 October, an interesting initiative by the elected officials of the municipal council of the town of Droue-sur-Drouette, near Épernon, deserves a journalist to participate in this meeting.
The reserve light comes on next to Gas
It is 19:45 The Clio indicator shows a fairly low level, but the on-board computer indicates the possibility of traveling up to 100 km. Not much, but enough to go back and forth between Chartres and Droue, just in case.
The lines in front of the few gas stations still open seem endless. So we’ll see later. Especially since before leaving, dedicated websites indicated that there was still diesel near Épernon.
The orange light indicating that you are in reserve comes on next to Gas. Bad sign. In Hips, the Hyper U station is not active. In fact it is closed. Too bad, we’ll see when we return.
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An hour and a half later, I head for Chartres with the subtle hope of finding an open refueling point. Maintenance Management. There is no more to go through there, but it gives you the opportunity to try your luck at the Carrefour Market in Pierres and the Intermarché in Maintenon.
Wasted time, everything is closed. The gauge on the dashboard no longer indicates the number of kilometers remaining before running out of fuel. When the reserve warning light comes on, it is estimated that generally 30 or 40 km of autonomy remain. Enough to return to Chartres via the Intermarché de Mainvilliers. Good surprise, the station is open. The bad news is that the queue overflows in the supermarket parking lot.
They are all closed
You don’t want to wait long without being sure the tanks can withstand the high demand. So let’s try our luck, without believing it, at the Total stations of Chartres, route d’Ablis and on the ring road. They are all closed. We try to blindly count the kilometers we could still do.
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It’s best to go back and find a solution the next day. The idea is to let those who start work through early so as not to queue too long without being sure that they can help themselves. Early in the morning, Total, rue du Bourgneuf in Chartres, is still closed. Head to the Mainvilliers Intermarché.
This time, there is no more choice. Let’s queue. It looks less impressive than the day before. And in fact, it goes very fast. After twelve minutes of waiting, it’s our turn. Some have had less luck, there is nothing left but diesel.
Francois Feuilleux
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