French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Bahrain on Tuesday as part of a Gulf tour, where he was greeted by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at Sakhir Air Base before talks at Sakhir Palace — a visit that has sparked political debate over Macron's international engagements and the crisis France faces at home.
The tour has already taken Macron to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with Qatar the final stop on Wednesday. Its business is energy. The Élysée announced Tuesday that Macron had secured commitments for an additional 200,000 tonnes of diesel a month — about 100,000 tonnes from the Emirates and a further 100,000 to be secured during the Bahrain stop — on top of 95,000 tonnes a month pledged by Saudi Arabia for October and November. Together, the presidency said, France now holds commitments for 295,000 tonnes a month, a little over 10 percent of its diesel consumption, with TotalEnergies to sign dedicated supply contracts and shipments routed via Oman to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been disrupted since the war between the United States and Iran began.
TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné, travelling with the president, said the deals would "reassure the French," adding: "We are not going to run out of diesel in February." France has also released 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic reserves. But the Élysée conceded it cannot yet say what any of it will mean at the pump — the effect on prices, it admitted, is one it cannot quantify at this stage.
"We are not going to run out of diesel in February." — TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné, travelling with Macron in the Gulf
Critics of the French president argue that his government should give greater attention to domestic concerns — immigration policy, public security and social tensions — rather than focusing on diplomatic engagements abroad. The timing has sharpened the attack: the tour comes days after a weekend of violent protests and riots in Paris and other cities over soaring living costs, with curfews imposed and thousands arrested. Macron has never been so unpopular, some politicians in Paris are calling for his resignation six months before the end of his term, and his opponents ask why a president whose own cities are burning is touring Gulf capitals.
Macron's meeting with Bahrain's king reflects France's continued diplomatic engagement with Gulf countries, where relations involve economic cooperation, regional security, investment and other strategic interests — and, on this trip, the diesel France needs to get through the winter. The broader debate centres on Macron's priorities: how France balances its international responsibilities with domestic concerns, and whether his government is doing enough to address the issues that matter most to its citizens. While Macron pursues diplomatic relations in the Gulf, the question raised by his critics is whether his administration is giving sufficient attention to France's challenges at home.