By Francois de Beaupuy and Samy Adghirni | Updated on Oct 08, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France will release diesel reserves to lower prices at the pump and vowed to keep a lid on energy bills this winter in a bid to quell a cost-of-living crisis.
As part of a recent agreement among the Group of Seven nations, the government will release 10 million barrels of diesel from strategic stockpiles over the next three months, which should lower the retail price by 12 to 18 euro cents a liter, Lecornu said at his office in Paris.
“Global prices will continue to fluctuate, but this will allow us to cushion part of the shock,” the premier said Wednesday evening.
The measures add to previously announced aid aimed at reducing fuel bills for farmers, truckers, building companies and other industries. Yet there’s little room for costly reforms as the government contends with a bloated budget deficit, weak growth and political instability — as well as a recent wave of student protests.
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France currently has 50 million of barrels of strategic diesel stockpiles, Energy Minister Maud Bregeon said Thursday on France Info radio. The government expects the three-month release to meet almost a fifth of projected demand. The fuel will be supplied to retailers at pre-crisis prices, the Finance Ministry said in a statement .
The average price of diesel at French pumps was €2.36 a liter last Friday, government data show. That’s more than a third higher than before the Iran war began in late February.
Prices for the fuel have soared globally as disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries tighten the market. The G7 agreed last week to release as much as 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from strategic reserves amid fears the US could impose a diesel export ban.
French diesel stockpiles will be monitored to ensure security of supply, and energy companies will have up to a year to rebuild them, Lecornu said. He also said state-owned energy giant Electricite de France SA would have to maximize power production to make sure customer bills remain under control.
The government is facing challenges on multiple fronts, prompting investors to dump French assets and stoking public anger over a range of issues. Most recently, student protests over funding for education, staff shortages and deteriorating conditions have spread across the country, at times turning violent.
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Measures to address some of the students’ demands will be unveiled by the government by the end of the month, Lecornu said.
“I want concrete, swift, hence funded measures,” he said, while sticking to the government’s plan to cut the budget deficit to 5% of gross domestic product in 2027, a target it’s on course to miss this year.
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