In the early-morning darkness of a small bakery in Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, a town about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Paris, the oven operated by Kevin and Sandrine Luce already runs at 270 degrees Celsius (518 degrees Fahrenheit) to give the day's batch of baguettes a crunchy crust. When the couple first fired up the oil-fueled oven in their store in March, they paid 2,230 euros ($2,540) for 2,000 liters (528 gallons) of heating oil. Last week, they spent almost the same amount on just 1, liters (317 gallons).

Fuel prices that have spiked since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 are dealing a hard blow to the couple and to other small businesses across Europe.

“Originally, it was a good deal, because initially, a fuel-heated oven is more economical than an electric one,” Kevin Luce said. “That is until the price (of fuel) increased by 50%. So, yes, now it's not a good deal.”

The Luces are far from alone. France counts more than 34,000 bakers churning out around 6 billion baguettes each year, according to the national federation of bakeries and patisseries, which says about one quarter of them use oil- or gas-fired ovens. The stakes reach far beyond one shop: the baguette, inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2022, is a fixture of daily French life, and energy has now moved to the center of the trade's economics.

As customers filed through the shop for their morning baguettes, croissants and other pastries, Luce told The Associated Press that the rising costs were eroding the business from within.

“All this superfluous expenditure on energy represents a loss of earnings,” he said. “It's salary we can't take, it's salary increases we can't give to our employees. It's investments we can't make.”

Rural France Hit Hardest

Although the energy crisis is inflicting pain globally, it is biting particularly hard in the rural expanses and communities of the European Union's largest country by area. Roughly 21 million people — about a third of the French population — live in the countryside, where public transportation is limited and residents often rely on cars to get around. Rural areas make up nearly 90% of France's territory.

The so-called yellow vest protest movement, which rocked French President Emmanuel Macron's government during his first term in office, put down wide roots in rural towns and villages, with protesters setting up camps on roundabouts. The demonstrations, some violent, gripped France for months. Fuel prices were one of the triggers of that anger — a painful memory for Macron's ministers that hangs over them now as they wrestle with renewed angst and fury about soaring costs.

New Aid Package

The French government responded this week with its latest aid package, worth an estimated 450 million euros (around $512 million), for people and industries battered by eye-watering prices at the pumps. It includes subsidies for people who commute at least 15 kilometers (9 miles) to work, as well as support ranging from 48 euros to 277 euros ($54 to $315) to assist 5.8 million families with their winter energy bills. Even if every one of those families received the minimum 48 euros, the household support alone would absorb roughly 60% of the package — a measure of how heavily winter bills weigh on the budget as the heating season begins.

Small Operators Squeezed

Martial Realland sold his home to help realize his long-held dream of owning a food truck, which he drives from village to village in the l'Oise region of northern France, selling savory ham and cheese pancakes, fries and other snacks. He said filling the truck with diesel now costs 200 euros (around $228), compared with 120 euros ($136) before the Iran war.

“It really hurts,” he told the AP. “It's catastrophic.”

And as fall and winter loom, he is also bracing for a sky-high heating bill, because the home he rents is warmed with heating oil. “I'm scared” of that bill, he said, estimating that filling his 1,500-liter (396-gallon) tank could cost 2,500 euros ($2,847). “Last year, it cost 1,600 euros.”

With that in mind, he may not fill the tank at all this year. Realland said he is already turning down work that requires a long drive, because the diesel his truck burns would make it financially pointless.

Political Pressure Mounts

Christine Loir, a lawmaker from the National Rally party of far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, said that more than 10% of homes in Lure, the Normandy region she represents in the National Assembly, use heating oil. Prices for the fuel are soaring, and Loir said many residents cannot afford to install other heating systems or better insulate their homes.

She is lobbying the government to lower taxes on heating oil, which is more commonly used in rural areas — both in homes and by enterprises, including in some bakers' ovens. She said some constituents have told her that this winter they will have to choose between heating and food. Her push puts a specific demand on the table for the government's next steps: whether Paris will go beyond targeted payments and cut the tax burden on heating oil itself — a lever that carries particular weight in rural districts like hers, where the fuel heats homes and fires businesses.

“People are extremely worried,” Loir told the AP. “People say that if fuel prices don't come down, they'll stop going to work, they can't cope.”

Prices on Hold

There is at least one crumb of comfort for customers of the Luces' bakery in Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, who come not just for bread and cakes but often for a chat, too. Prices are not rising in line with fuel costs: a basic baguette still costs 1 euro (about $1.14), and a “traditional” baguette, which takes longer to make, 1.10 euros ($1.25). Bakers have set their own prices since France ended bread-price regulation in 1987, so the freeze is a choice — one that keeps the energy bill inside the business rather than passing it down the counter.

“I won't change my price,” Luce said. “It wouldn't be of any help. It wouldn't soak up the lost revenue and it would be counterproductive, because our customers would feel betrayed. They shouldn't have to pay more. They're already paying enough at home.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.