Government decree releases strategic diesel stocks to cut fuel prices from November
A decree published on Saturday authorises the sale of strategic diesel reserves, aiming to lower retail prices by up to 18 cents per litre starting 1 November.
On Saturday the government issued a decree that defines the economic terms for releasing strategic diesel stocks, a policy announced earlier by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The text permits the sale of a maximum volume of fuel to distributors at a price to be set by order, with the goal of reducing the diesel price by 12 to 18 cents per litre, where current averages hover between 2.3 and 2.4 euros. Distributors are obliged to transmit the entire discount to consumers and must notify buyers before the sale, with the possibility of an early rollout from 1 November.
Unlike the usual loan arrangement with Sagess, the sale will use a weighted-average acquisition cost, and regular sales and price-impact reports will be sent to regulators for oversight. Another decree prolongs the assistance window for non-road agricultural diesel (GNR) until December, offering a 15-cent per litre rebate, while a later order will reopen the scheme for April-June for farmers who have not used their full allocation.
The Ministry of Agriculture reported recent payouts to hundreds of thousands of farmers, and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné pledged to cut diesel prices for households by about 10 cents and GNR by 20 cents, potentially delivering up to 35 cents of support per litre for the agricultural sector. The measures come as the government seeks to temper unrest amid broader social tensions.
Why it matters
Lowering diesel costs could ease household budgets and agricultural expenses, reducing social pressure on the government.
In this story
