- A measure introduced without consulting stakeholders
- A measure that is detrimental to the purchasing power of French citizens, to farmer income, to cutting carbon emissions in transport, and to France’s energy, food and protein sovereignty.
- A measure with serious repercussions for the sugar, starch and oil industries, in which France is a leader in Europe.
The 2026 French Budget Bill includes a drastic increase in taxation on French biofuels Superethanol-E85 (380%) and B100 (400%).
This measure was introduced without consultation and is not supported by any impact study or a serious assessment of its economic, social, agricultural, industrial, environmental or sovereignty-related consequences. It is based on questionable technical assumptions and overlooks the major effects it would have on farmer income, fuel prices and France’s energy and food independence.
Worse still, by removing the existing tax break, this tax hike would obviously incite consumers, motorists and hauliers to revert to imported fossil fuels — the most carbon-intensive — at the expense of French fuels with low carbon intensity. Superethanol-E85 contains up to 85% bioethanol, of which France is Europe’s leading producer, using almost entirely French raw materials (wheat, maize, sugar beet, processing residues and wine by-products). Likewise, B100 consists entirely of biodiesel produced from French rapeseed.
Yet, French agricultural biofuel represents a strategic lever for ecological transition, industrial vitality in the regions, and France’s energy and food sovereignty. Abruptly calling this tax break into question would have structural consequences for all related industries, as well as for motorists and road hauliers, and not only those actually using Superethanol-E85 and B100. Such a measure would undermine the income of more than 120,000 farmers, threaten the industrial balance of regional economies by endangering over 30,000 jobs, halt cuts in transport carbon emissions, and ultimately lead to increased fuel prices for everyone.
Furthermore, in an uncertain geopolitical context, such a measure would jeopardise the contribution of French farming to the nation’s energy and food sovereignty, through the co-production of plant-based proteins inherent in agricultural biofuel production. Every year, the French biofuel industries co-produce over 1 million tonnes of rapeseed meal and 540,000 tonnes of cereal distillers’ grains, thereby avoiding the massive importation of soy meal and bringing France’s protein self-sufficiency to 55%, compared with only 30% in the rest of the European Union.
By weakening these industries, the suggested measure would run counter to the stability and predictability expected by economic players and asserted by public authorities — while paradoxically fostering a return to imported fossil fuels.
entirely disregards the serious repercussions
Calling into question a market of such great structural importance as agricultural biofuels would seriously weaken these flagship industries of excellence, in an increasingly open and competitive global market.
In this context, the French agricultural biofuel industries sound the alarm and adamantly oppose the suggested sharp increase in taxation on Superethanol-E85 and B100. They call for the withdrawal of this unjustifiable measure and the launch of in-depth, responsible dialogue with all relevant stakeholders, commensurate with the agricultural, industrial, social and environmental challenges at stake.
Attachments :
- French Agricultural Biofuels in Figures : « The French biodiesel and bioethanol sectors generate a positive contribution of €1.87 billion to the trade balance each year;» ;
- OpinionWay Survey : « The French and the Role of Biofuels in cutting transport emissions».
Press Contacts:
Bioéthanol France : Sylvain DEMOURES – 06 76 98 08 17- sdemoures@bioethanolfrance.fr
EsteriFrance : Isabelle WEBER – presse@esterifrance.fr
AGPM : Guillaume LE HOAN – guillaume.le-hoan@agpm.com
CGB (Betteraviers) : Carine MEIER – 06 27 05 23 80 – cmeier@cgb-france.fr
AGPB : Hélène MILESI – 06 71 73 92 06 – helene.milesi@comfluence.fr
FOP : Thibaut LEDERMANN – 06 50 69 20 08 – t.ledermann@fopoleopro.com
Terres Univia : Cécilia DERRIEN – 07 86 08 76 74 – c.derrien@terresunivia.fr
FNSEA : Guillaume PAPIN – 06 16 62 38 95 – guillaume.papin@reseaufnsea.fr
