Macron calls fuel prices "intolerable"

Diesel skyrockets in several European countries as Macron points to Hormuz

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has called "intolerable" the prices that French people are paying at the pump and linked the problem to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Bab el Mandeb Strait. He posted this on X after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Jordanian King Abdullah II. The issue is not merely French: diesel prices have soared in several European countries, and in Germany, they already exceed €2.50 per liter.

How much has diesel risen in Europe?

In Germany, the price of diesel rose by around 20 cents per liter in a single day, reaching close to €2.56, which caused long queues at some service stations. Spain, in contrast, maintains one of the lowest prices on the continent. One participant suggests that data regarding reserves, imports, suppliers, and refining capacity is missing.

The weight of taxes, according to one calculation

Part of the analysis holds that in France, around 60% of what a liter of gasoline costs is taxes, meaning the government's real capacity to lower pump prices is fiscal before it is diplomatic. Another participant counters that with a deficit of 5.2% of GDP — around €154 billion in 2025, according to his calculation— cutting taxes without touching spending only increases debt. And touching spending, in France as in Spain, is equivalent to opening the political Pandora's box: either you pay higher taxes, or you go into debt, or both.

Spain, at the tail end of prices

With German diesel above €2.50 and French prices subject to presidential criticism, the Spanish market holds firm below that level. How long this will last is another discussion: if the blockage of maritime routes continues, the differential that currently separates Spain from its neighbors could narrow, and no participant has provided figures to explain why it exists or how long it might last.