After the sale of a third of the released strategic stocks, Bercy announces a drop of 19 cents per liter of diesel in more than 80% of service stations

Has the release of strategic stocks, which began on November 1st, already made it possible to lower the price of diesel? According to the Minister of the Economy Roland Lescure, "the price of diesel has fallen by 19 cents per liter on average in nearly 7,600 service stations, or more than four stations out of five".

“4,000 of them have lowered their prices by at least 20 cents per liter. To date, 3.6 million barrels have been put up for sale, or a little more than a third of the strategic stocks planned for this release which will take place over the next three months,” explains the minister on his social networks.

For Roland Lescure, the release of these strategic stocks constitutes “a real relief for the purchasing power of French motorists”. Energy poverty The government announced in October that it would sell ten million barrels of diesel from strategic stocks to distributors at cost price for three months, starting November 1. These stocks were purchased before the war in the Middle East at 0.28 euros per liter, significantly less than the current market price of around 1.10 euros per liter, according to Matignon.

This exceptional measure was decided to deal with the surge in fuel prices and energy in general caused by the war in the Middle East, which is increasing energy poverty in France. The 2026 barometer from the national energy mediator, published this Tuesday, shows that one in three French people has difficulty paying certain electricity or gas bills. The initiative also allows the government to provide a response to the decline in purchasing power, while demonstrations have multiplied in recent days, this same purchasing power constituting one of the demands.

Machine-translated from French