France is running short on diesel, and Emmanuel Macron wants Brussels to ease the rules behind it. The French president has asked European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen for temporary fuel-spec relaxations and a one-year delay on methane reporting, as diesel prices climb and filling stations report shortages.
Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 18, 2026, asking Brussels to temporarily ease EU fuel quality specifications and push back a methane emissions reporting deadline by a full year. Diesel prices in France have climbed to €2.39 per liter. Meanwhile, between 14% and 16% of the country's filling stations were reporting shortages of at least one fuel type in mid-to-late September 2026.
What Macron is asking for
Macron's letter calls for loosening thresholds on fuel density, volatility, and desulfurization, while also permitting an increase in biodiesel blending from the current B7 standard to B10. That would mean up to 10% of diesel could come from biological sources rather than crude oil. French refiners estimate these changes alone could lift domestic production by somewhere between 5% and 20%.
On methane, Macron wants the compliance deadline for emissions monitoring obligations pushed from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2028. Importers face legal exposure if they cannot verify methane data from suppliers in regions currently experiencing disruption, so a delay would let the market stabilize before enforcement begins. Macron has framed both requests as emergency measures, similar to the exemptions the EU granted energy companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why the supply crunch is this bad
Europe now sources 36% of its kerosene and 18% of its diesel from the Middle East, and disruptions there since early 2026 have tightened those flows. As a result, refiners cannot sign long-term import contracts with confidence when the source geography is unstable, so they run leaner inventories. Leaner inventories mean less buffer when demand spikes or a delivery is delayed.
What Brussels does next
The European Commission has not yet publicly responded to Macron's letter. If it agrees to even a partial version of the French proposal, refiners could move quickly to adjust blending ratios and processing parameters. The 5-20% production uplift estimate is a wide range reflecting uncertainty about how individual refineries would respond, but even its lower end would ease pressure on French filling stations.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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