Macron urges extreme caution in the Gulf and secures gas supply deal in Qatar
French President Emmanuel Macron, at the end of a two-day state visit to Qatar, warned about the fragile security situation in the Gulf and said France has secured liquefied natural gas supplies for the winter.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for “extreme caution” in the Gulf on Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, to keep tensions from reigniting conflict. He spoke at the end of a two-day state visit, after talks with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. During the trip Macron also announced an agreement covering France’s winter needs for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Warning over tensions
Macron noted that elections are coming up in Israel and midterm elections in the United States, so efforts and initiatives must be doubled to prevent a return to conflict. He said he discussed Qatar’s mediation efforts at length with the emir, and that Iran’s answer on the ongoing negotiations with the United States would come “in the next hours or days”.
He also raised shipping through the blocked Strait of Hormuz. The main difficulty, he said, is transport costs multiplied by ten, because too few ships make the transit as they are not insured. France and the Gulf states are working on a mechanism to address this, on diversifying infrastructure and on reducing dependence on Hormuz.
Gas and diesel
Macron said France secured the equivalent of two terawatt-hours per month of LNG for the winter period. In his words, this should reduce pressure on prices from November and help avoid shortfalls. France has recently seen violent protests over rising living costs. The country also obtained commitments for an additional 200,000 tonnes of diesel per month from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Macron was accompanied by business leaders, including the chief executives of energy companies TotalEnergies and Engie. TotalEnergies already has substantial interests in Qatar, including a partnership with QatarEnergy in the North Field East LNG expansion project.
Defence cooperation
Macron announced new agreements to keep supplying Qatar with 5th-generation Rafale fighter jets, as well as radars, air-defence systems and armoured vehicles. France was one of Qatar’s main defenders during the Iran war. After leaving Qatar, Macron made a surprise stop in Saudi Arabia to show support for its efforts against the Houthis in Yemen.
Qatar’s foreign ministry called the visit “historic”. More than 665 French companies operate in Qatar, and bilateral trade in goods reached around 6.39 billion riyals in 2025.
