Gas prices in France set to shoot up: Tips to reduce costs
A 15% rise is already expected from May 1, 2026
Reducing gas usage and lowering heating can help reduce bills... as can switching contracts in some cases
Shevchuk/Shutterstock.
Gas bills for French homes are set to increase significantly over the coming months due to the effects of the conflict in the Middle East.
Increases could reach 25%, according to one expert. This corresponds to around €260 per year in additional costs for a family of four in France using gas heating, or closer to €500 per year if the household also uses gas for heating water and cooking.
Despite a small drop in gas prices in April – already finalised before the outbreak of the conflict – the prolonged impact of the war will see prices increase considerably from May 1.
A 15% increase in prices is already expected from May 1, as confirmed by president of the Commission de régulation de l’énergie (CRE) Emmanuelle Wargon to media outlet Le Parisien in March.
Depending on the length of the conflict, and global supply issues, this will increase as the months go on.
Sylvain Le Falher, CEO of price comparison website Hello Watt, believes that this will eventually increase to 25% due to the war.
Why are gas contracts increasing by so much?
The prolonged impact of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran has seen several neighbouring Gulf States impacted, including Qatar.
Alongside causing travel chaos and closing the strait of Hormuz leading to oil price spikes, the conflict has impacted several other fuel types.
Jet fuel is one concern, with airlines warning of price increases unless new supplies are made available, but liquefied natural gas production has also been hit hard.
Qatar provides close to 40% of Europe’s liquefied gas supply, and transported around a quarter of all the world’s supply through the strait until the outbreak of the conflict.
Gas production facilities in the region have been hit several times during the conflict, with repairs expected to take months if not years and global supplies not recovering until Qatar and Iran return to pre-war production levels.
As with fuel costs, the higher base cost for the raw material purchased by suppliers to be used by residents in France is ultimately passed on to the consumer.
What can households do?
Similar to drivers impacted by petrol and diesel increases, residents who have a gas contract will ultimately end up paying more. They can however limit the impact.
If you are on a market tariff (more on this below) the simplest way to do reduce costs is by being more conscious of energy usage: lower the temperature of your heating by one or two degrees, be mindful of how much hot water you use when washing and showering, consider how long your gas cooker is on for, etc.
You can also consider replacing your gas boiler with a more energy efficient system.
While expensive, there are several long-term benefits, and you may be able to get partial funding through the government’s MaPrimeRénov’ eco-renovation scheme.
Finally, those on a market tariff, based on the CRE’s benchmark price for gas, can look to switch to a fixed contract.
Market tariffs are flexible and fluctuate depending on the benchmark price of gas (regulated gas tariffs are no longer available in France), which can see bills rise or drop based on global gas prices.
The start of the year saw the benchmark price drop steadily – in turn seeing bills reduce – however as the base cost of gas increases, market tariffs will also jump.
In comparison, a fixed price contract sees consumers pay a set amount for their gas, regardless of the market price (although other elements of the contract remain variable).
This fixed price is the same throughout the length of the contract, usually one year but possibly up to two or three.
While this fixed amount can be higher than the base price, it protects against market fluctuations.
It is possible to opt in for a fixed price contract at any time, and doing so before May 1, when market tariffs are set to increase considerably, is most beneficial.
Our article here provides more information on fixed contracts.
One potential move is to obtain a gas contract with TotalEnergies – usually one of the most competitive on the market as it produces at least part of its supply itself at refineries based in France – and then sign up to the group’s avantage carburant scheme.
This locks fuel prices at €1.99 per litre for both petrol and diesel – below current averages in France – until the end of 2026. More information is available here.
