French president says he warned Trump diesel export ban would raise prices, calls move ‘bad’

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he had warned US President Donald Trump that a possible US ban on diesel exports would raise fuel prices, calling the move a “bad” decision.

“We are not directly dependent” on American oil, Macron told French broadcasters TF1 and France 2.

He added that such a decision “would raise prices.”

“I told him that this decision would be bad,” Macron said, referring to his meeting with Trump at the UN General Assembly earlier this week.

Macron also said France is taking steps to prevent fuel shortages amid disruptions to energy supplies linked to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are doing everything to avoid fuel shortages,” he said, adding that France has replenished its gas stocks and also has oil reserves.

He said France would continue securing fuel supplies in the coming weeks and would convene G7 countries to assess whether strategic reserves should again be released to ease pressure on the market.

“We will look at whether, at that time, it is necessary to release stocks again to ease the market,” Macron said.

Macron also announced the deployment of French military resources to protect a key energy site in Saudi Arabia.

“We will send military resources, soldiers, radar, defense systems to protect this site,” he said.

The comments come as the US considers restrictions on diesel exports amid record-high fuel prices. Trump said Tuesday he supported the idea of restricting diesel exports, while US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that an outright ban would not work and could in fact push up gasoline and jet fuel prices.

Macron said it was possible that France could face an attempted Russian attack similar to last month’s incident at Leipzig airport, while denying a report saying that the CIA had warned French intelligence services of a possible Russian drone attack on southern France.

“The CIA did not inform the French secret services” of such a threat, he said. “But we are facing a worrying situation,” he added, saying an attack “could happen.”

Macron said Russia is carrying out an increasing number of “hostile and sometimes criminal acts” against European countries and that there have been “several indications” of renewed Russian mobilization.

Spanish daily El Mundo reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with an alleged CIA alert, that several European governments had been warned of a possible Russian drone operation targeting Spain, France, or Italy; the report has not been independently confirmed.