'Worst energy crisis in history' - French MPs grill govt over surging fuel prices amid Middle East war

"French National Assembly members criticised the President Emmanuel Macron-led government over rising energy prices following the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran, during a parliamentary session in Paris on Tuesday. “The average price of diesel is approaching 2.20 euros and could break grim records, just like petrol, fuel oil, and perhaps gas in three weeks,” Jean Philippe Taguy of National Rally (RN) stated.  “After these three weeks of inaction, aside from phoney checks, you are announcing umpteenth deferrals of contributions, loans, and half-measures that shift the problem instead of relieving households and professionals,” he continued.  Taguy’s claims were supported by Matthias Tavel of La France insoumise, RN’s main opponent. The lawmaker demanded that the government take measures to stop the escalating tensions in the Middle East that are ‘blowing up all energy prices’. “The International Energy Agency is calling it the worst energy crisis in history. And what have you done in the past three weeks? Nothing. Nothing to sanction the warmongers. Nothing for a return to peace in the region. Nothing for the purchasing power of the French people,” Tavel stated. French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Energy Sovereignty, Roland Lescure, defended the current energy policy, calling accusations ‘a mix of imperfections, inaccuracies, lies and divisions’. “Obviously, an oil shock is not good news for the State's accounts. I regret it. But yes, this systematically results in a degradation,” he said. Global prices have surged following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around 20 per cent of global oil and LNG traffic, by Iran after attacks on its territory. To tackle the crisis, the French government introduced several indirect measures and asked refineries to ‘quickly and temporarily’ ramp up production. North Atlantic France has already announced it could increase production ‘by a maximum 10 percent’. Tensions escalated in the Middle East after the US and Israel launched a joint operation against Iranian targets on February 28 amid diplomatic talks aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and US military positions in the region, with explosions reported across multiple Gulf countries."

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