Macron urges EU to loosen oil product rules as France faces diesel crisis

France is running low on diesel, and Emmanuel Macron has decided the paperwork is part of the problem. The French president sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 18, 2026, requesting that Brussels temporarily ease EU fuel quality specifications and push back a methane emissions reporting deadline by a full year. The letter lands at a genuinely difficult moment. Diesel prices in France have climbed to €2.39 per liter, and 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 actually asking for The proposed regulatory adjustments are technical but consequential. 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, meaning 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 the methane side, Macron is asking to push the compliance deadline for emissions monitoring obligations,...