France spends €450 million extending fuel subsidies through year-end

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PARIS — The French government said Tuesday it would spend €450 million to extend fuel subsidies until the end of the year to help companies and workers affected by the economic consequences of the war in the Middle East.

“We hear the concerns of the French people, which sometimes take the form of anger. These concerns and this anger are sincere, and we must address them. That is what we are doing today,” Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters Tuesday.

The package includes a €0.15 per liter subsidy on non-road diesel for farmers and €0.20 per liter subsidy for construction company trucks. The government will also double the subsidy from €0.20 to €0.40 for those with low incomes who must drive for work, such as nurses who carry out home visits.

Budget Minister David Amiel estimated that the country would end up spending €1.4 billion in subsidies this year.

France has since March favored combatting rising energy prices with targeted fuel subsidies as opposed to across-the-board tax cuts, which would likely exacerbate France’s dire fiscal outlook. Lescure said that approach would remain “unchanged.”

But the conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices to near their highest level since May, while gas prices were more than double their level before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran in February, prompting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been multiplying efforts to sound the alarm and tackle the problem in recent days.

He gathered party leaders and presidential candidates Friday to brief them on how global conflicts are driving fuel prices to new highs in France, later telling reporters that France would also convene a special G7 to address rising energy prices. He also urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ease EU rules on fuel quality and methane emissions.

Macron said Tuesday that he had discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump a moratorium on energy sector strikes between Ukraine and Russia.