TotalEnergies always more profitable, but almost popular… How Patrick Pouyanné improved the image of the French oil giant
DECRYPTION - Long vilified for its oil activity and its high profits, the group is now praised for having notably capped fuel prices at its service stations.
Government satisfaction for the superprofits of an oil giant. Maud Bregeon, Minister of Energy and government spokesperson, was delighted on Thursday that France benefits from “a major oil major in a crisis such as the one we are going through”. TotalEnergies had just announced a record net profit of $8.3 billion in the third quarter, in addition to the $9.8 billion made in the first half.
“It would be wrong to sink into Total Bashing,” warned the minister. Subjected for years to intense criticism for its oil activities and its profits, with its share of disrupted general meetings, the French group is benefiting from a paradoxical reversal of opinion. Regardless of the fact that the war in the Middle East has caused oil prices, pump prices and profits to soar, TotalEnergies is enjoying an unexpected surge in popularity.
Certainly, several NGOs, including 350. org, Action Justice Climat Paris and Attac France, again called on Thursday for the taxation of “superprofits and profits from fossil companies to finance public services, the ecological transition and support for households”. But these activists are much less vocal today.
Machine-translated from French
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- Le Figaro29 Oct, 20:00
| Publisher Le Figaro (established tier) | +76 |
| Detailed summary | +2 |
| Total | 78 |
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