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David
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It's been a while since I drove any distance in France so just a query about availability of Petrol.

I seem to remember that most Petrol Stations were closed on a Sunday apart from those on the Autoroutes.

Is this still the situation?

I will be driving down to near Carcassonne leaving Boulogne on Saturday arriving Sunday.

One of my longer routes probably, avoiding Paris and half of the Autoroute network going via Rouen to Le Man then Tours. Poitiers, Limoges then Toulouse and on to Carcassonne. All worked out and sorted but just need to know about Fuel stops really. I shall be stopping overnight somewhere after about 4/5 hrs driving so will need to refuel then. probably Poitiers or Limoges.

David

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Our petrol station here is open on Sunday mornings from 09.00 to 12.00.  Many little local supermarkets follow suit, but they tend to be in small villages so aren't necessarily easy to find.  You can use a FRENCH debit card out of hours.  Another way in which a few people whom I know get around this is to wait for a local to turn up at a 24/24 pump, give them cash, and ask them to put the fuel on their debit cards.  Many locals turn out to be very obliging in this way.[:)]
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Hi David,

I'm not too sure from your words whether or not you are using autoroutes from Rouen to Tours?

You may not know this, but there is a brand new autoroute that links onto the road network just outside Rouen and takes you all the way to Tours (A.28). I use this road all the time to go back and forth to my French home and can thoroughly recommend it. There are a good sprinkling of refuelling and refreshment stops - all open 24/7. Having used both cars and vans in recent times, from memory the toll for that very big section is about 23 euros for cars and 37 euros for large vans.

Regards,

Mel

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Hi David,

Our local Total station has automatic out-of-hours pumps thatl take UK cards. The station is tiny and just outside a small town  so I am sure on the autoroutes you wouldn't have a problem finding places that accept your card.

Jane

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Hi: I would recommend you refuel at Leclercs hypermarket at Boulogne which was fine. Be aware that there are not many service stations between Rouen and Le Mans. There is one just outside Rouen before you turn off for Le Mans.  We had no probs with getting diesel but I would not refuel on the autoroutes as the fuel is expensive. We used our UK credit cards at the 24h pumps at Leclercs supermarkets in the Vendee without any problems so you should be OK.
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I thought UK cards would work in our local intermarche and champion 24/24 pumps, so was suprised when an English person approached me to find out how I had got the petrol pump to work.  I obligingly asked for his cash then put in my card.  I must have seemed daft as I couldn't work out what the person was saying - speaking in English with an English accent really put me to the test!

M

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All these machines work on a PIN, so if you have never asked for a PIN for your UK credit card,  you can't use them.

Its a bit daft to say that a petrol station takes "UK cards", apart from Calais and Boulogne, most do not take UK debit cards, they certainly do not take maestro or switch cards,.  But they do take credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard which are international cards, however, your UK issued cards may be refused if you have not told your bank that you are going abroad.

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I think it's correct to say that UK cards are not generally accepted in machines. Certainly, I still have a UK credit card which doesn't work in card-operated petrol pumps here in France, but is OK at the supermarket checkout with PIN validation. I also had trouble with it at the card-operated hotels (B&B Hotel chain), but fortunately the manager was on hand to sort it out. It's not a case of never having asked for a PIN; I've used this particular card for over 6 years... well not this actual card, it does get renewed every couple of years [:)] but the PIN has been valid for all that time. I believe that the card readers here have not been programmed to deal with anything other than French cards, except for some in areas where there is a high British presence; like Calais for example. Our French debit card is of course OK.

The UK cards are accepted at the autoroute tollbooths where no PIN validation is required.

 

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The filling station in Lauterbourg (on the Alsace German border) actually has a sign (in German) that it only accepts French cards.  So there are certainly some machines that will not accept Visa or Mastercard credit cards, PIN or no PIN.
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[quote user="TheVicar"]We have a Maestro card and it's never been a problem at petrol stations (but not at the toll machines on autoroutes[:$])
[/quote]

Good morning Vicar

Is that a UK Maestro?  and did you use it in unmanned petrol pumps or at the normal kiosk after the pumps?

I'm getting confused by all the different experiences other people seem to be having. [8-)]

We don't have a French credit card but we DO have a French debit card and that works everywhere. That's no help to UK visitors though who want to use their UK cards! [Www]

One of the best pieces of advice was given earlier... offer cash to a French user at the petrol pumps on 24hr card-operated pumps, or buy your (expensive) fuel on the autoroutes where the kiosk is always open.

Bonne route! 

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