Patrick Pouyanne, the head of TotalEnergies, warned on Friday that France was at risk of entering an “era of energy shortage” due to the Middle East war. On Saturday, Emmanuel Macron dismissed this analysis, despite it being shared by experts.
Publish date: April 25, 2026 19:03 | Last updated: April 26, 2026 09:19 | Reading time: 3min
/2026/04/25/69ece6ac53833262671033.jpg "Heres why specialists fear a fuel shortage in France.")
The controversy is ongoing. On Saturday, Emmanuel Macron from Athens, Greece, dismissed any risk of fuel “shortage” in France and stated that “at this stage,” the situation was under control, despite the war in the Middle East and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the conflict began and pump prices soared, government officials have maintained this stance. Maud Bregeon, Energy Minister and government spokesperson, stated on TF1 on April 1 that “there is no risk of a supply disruption” and emphasized that France has strategic reserves to counter the crisis.
The statement by the TotalEnergies CEO makes sense to Thierry Bros, an energy expert and professor at Sciences Po Paris. Bros highlighted that governing means forecasting, and while the state has strategic stocks, there are rules and decisions made collectively by the IEA.
The war has caused damage in the Gulf countries, and even if navigation in the Strait of Hormuz resumes freely soon, the return to normal for energy supply will not be immediate as infrastructure disruption is expected to last a long time.
