Fuel pumps at an Esso petrol station in Rely, northern France, on March 5, 2026. SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP
France's finance minister said Monday, March 9, the G7 was "not there yet" in terms of any release of strategic oil reserves as the world's leading industrialized nations held crisis talks on the economic fallout of the Middle East war. Earlier Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven advanced economies, said the G7 would this week discuss a possible release of strategic oil reserves.
A possible meeting of G7 leaders on the energy issue could take place this week, Macron told journalists on his way to Cyprus. However, speaking to reporters after chairing a video meeting of G7 finance ministers, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the group was "not there yet."
Asked if they had agreed on releasing stockpiles to lower prices, Lescure said from Brussels: "What we've agreed upon is to use any necessary tools, if need be, to stabilise the market, including the potential release of necessary stockpiles." Such a measure can only be effective if it is implemented in a "coordinated" manner, Lescure added.
The war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran is fuelling fears for the global economy, with global stock markets sinking and oil rocketing above $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
