France Lowers Diesel Prices While Belgium Maintains Strategic Réserves
Motorists driving across the French border can buy diesel for up to €17.70 less per tank than drivers in Belgium. Prices observed in northern France included €2.098 per litre at Auchan in Fourmies, €2.150 at TotalEnergies in Halluin, €2.186 at Hyper U in Armentières, and €2.229 at Intermarché in Bray-Dunes.
Those French prices contrast with the maximum price for B7 diesel in Belgium, which has remained capped at €2.452 per litre since October 31. For a 50-litre tank filled in Fourmies compared to the Belgian maximum price, the price difference reaches €17.70.
Paris Releases Strategic Stocks While Belgium Holds Reserves
To relieve motorists, Paris decided to release 10 million barrels from its strategic reserves, and TotalEnergies agreed to cap its prices. When asked why Belgium did not follow this example, the cabinet of Federal Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet stated that regulatory frameworks are explicit. Strategic stocks cannot be mobilized solely to counter high petroleum prices, according to the energy cabinet.
Belgium maintains reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports. The federal cabinet emphasized that these stocks were established to guarantee the country’s security of supply during major disruptions or supply cuts. While Belgium participates in the International Energy Agency’s collective action, it does so without tapping into those 90-day reserves.
Candelon Warns France Risks Shortages by Drawing Down Reserves
Bertrand Candelon, a professor at UCLouvain, said that he understands this caution. He noted that countries face two choices: either follow France’s path and draw down stocks, or hold back. Candelon warned that drawing down reserves assumes the Middle East conflict will normalize quickly, and if the conflict hardens, France risks running low on reserves and facing shortages.
Candelon described the situation as a missed opportunity, regretting that Europe did not negotiate directly with oil companies in the manner France negotiated with TotalEnergies. He argued that a coordinated European negotiation for an immediate price cap, backed by modest compensation paid after the crisis passes, would have benefited households and businesses more effectively than discussions surrounding surplus profit taxes.