Macron calls potential Trump diesel export ban catastrophic
French president says Russia could be preparing to mobilize 300,000 more troops as tensions with Moscow rise
Published
French President Emmanuel Macron said a potential U.S. ban on diesel exports, floated by President Donald Trump, would be catastrophic. Macron said there are never any guarantees with Trump.
Macron also said Russia could be preparing to mobilize around 300,000 additional troops.
The warning comes after a week in which Macron said Russia is multiplying hostile and criminal acts against France and ordered extra protection for French sites. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said afterward that allies are prepared for Russian hybrid attacks. Macron separately ordered French troops to guard Saudi Arabia's Yanbu oil terminal after a Houthi claim of missile strikes there.
Macron's comments add to signs of mounting friction between Washington, Paris and Moscow. A ban on U.S. diesel exports would risk fracturing Western energy coordination at a moment when Russia is already cutting its own exports and energy security is fragile. Combined with Macron's warnings on Russian troop movements and hybrid threats, the remarks point to deepening NATO-Russia tension, a bearish signal for risk assets even as Trump pursues separate diplomatic openings with China and Russia.