There is no shortage of coal but it is expensive

The Municipal Council, based on the prefectural memorandum, has just raised 3,800,000 francs. the credit allocated to the purchases of coal by the City of Paris, with a view to heating for the next winter.
This additional expense, the budget of which will increase even further, is due to the increase incurred since the end of the year by fuels. Let us listen to Mr. Juillard: “The favorable situation of 1921 and the beginning of 1922 was not maintained. From the beginning of the winter of 1922, symptoms of the complete change in the state of the coal market became apparent. The prices resulting from the auction on March 22, for the period from May 1 to April 30, 1924, present an increase on those of last year, from 5 to 26 francs for the first two lots comprising a total of 108,000 tons. and from 85 to 45 francs per tonne for other lots (20,000 tonnes).
These figures are hardly reassuring and if the situation does not improve, particularly with regard to foreign exchange, we can expect to pay a high price for coal this winter.