Macron's Qatar state visit caps Gulf tour with diesel deals for France
Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Qatar capped his Gulf tour after the Élysée announced an extra 200,000 tonnes a month of diesel from the UAE and Bahrain, taking French commitments to 295,000 tonnes a month — just over 10 per cent of national consumption.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has hosted President Emmanuel Macron for official talks at Lusail Palace, in what Arab News described as the first state visit by a French president to Qatar. Macron was received at Hamad International Airport by Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani, with fighter jets escorting his plane, the Saudi Gazette reported.
The Qatar leg caps a Gulf tour that also took Macron to Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain as France seeks fuel supplies after a weekend of violent cost-of-living protests.
The Élysée said on Tuesday the UAE had committed about 100,000 tonnes of diesel a month, with a further 100,000 to come from Bahrain — alongside Saudi deliveries, French commitments total 295,000 tonnes a month, just over 10 per cent of consumption. Kuwait gave “very clear commitments” to send diesel and kerosene to Mayotte and Réunion via Oman, bypassing the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanné, travelling with the president, said the deals would “reassure the French”, adding: “We are not going to run out of diesel in February.”
The tour follows Macron’s Sunday address vowing to secure energy supplies. With the US-Iran war pushing prices higher since February, the French-chaired G7 agreed earlier in October to draw up to 100 million barrels from strategic reserves, while France has released 10 million barrels of its own diesel stocks to cut prices by 12 to 18 cents a litre from next month.
Sources: Arab News · Al Jazeera · Saudi Gazette · Khaleej Times
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