Diesel prices in France have increased 40% since May 2025, new data on fuel prices shows.
Petrol prices have increased by roughly 20% in the last 12 months, both for SP95 and SP98 variants.
The spike is largely due to the conflict in the Middle East between the US/Israel and Iran, which began at the end of February.
Constrictions to traffic along the Strait of Hormuz, limiting global oil and natural gas supplies, remain in place and there has been widespread damage to both gas and oil infrastructure.
The average price for a litre of diesel (gazole) in France on May 8, 2026 was €2.1566, according to government data.
This is lower than the peak of €2.31 per litre for diesel seen in April 2026, but fuel prices have stabilised in recent weeks.
Note these are weekly averages and consist of thousands of petrol stations across France. Prices on a given day across the week, or at a certain station, may vary significantly.
Are new prices the norm?
Prices on May 8 were only -0.2% lower than the preceding week, hinting that current costs may become the norm until global fuel supplies return to pre-war levels.
Between May 2025 and January 2026, diesel prices increased by only around 5%, and then 35% between January and May 2026.
Petrol prices in France have been less impacted by the conflict. France refines much of its petrol domestically, whereas it imports the majority of its diesel only after it has been refined.
This means it can import cheaper raw materials (crude oil) for petrol production, whereas for diesel it is the more expensive final product that has to be imported, raising total costs.
Petrol prices were essentially unchanged between May 2025 and January 2026, but since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict have increased by 20% - 23%.
Noticeably, petrol prices increased between May 1 and May 8 by around 1%, but again this is likely due to the market configuring new standard prices.
Unlike diesel, which decreased following a major spike in cost in April 2026, petrol prices are slowly rising, and have not seen a comparable fall.
