French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern warning on Wednesday in Doha about the Gulf's fragile security situation, urging “extreme caution” to avoid escalating tensions that could reignite conflict, after talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
At the end of his two-day state visit to Qatar, Macron told the media that “no one can ignore that we are in a period that despite everything can lead to tensions: elections in Israel, the midterm elections in the United States, and so during this time efforts and initiatives must be doubled to avoid that these tensions don’t result in a resumption of conflict.”
The French president said he discussed at length Qatar’s mediation efforts with Sheikh Tamim and that “in the next hours or days we will have Iran’s answer,” on the ongoing negotiations with the United States at a time when “there is a lot of uncertainty and measures taken by one side and the other that I would not comment on. “
Hailing France’s relationship with Qatar as “partners in trust who helped the security and stability” of the region, Macron said he was “very cautious because no one can tell how the situation will evolve in the next days and weeks.”
Macron said that the two leaders also discussed ways to secure the transit of ships through the blocked Strait of Hormuz, with the “biggest difficulty now being the cost of transport multiplied by 10 because of too few ships come for transit as they are not insured.”
France and the Gulf countries are working on a mechanism to address this reality, on “diversification in infrastructure” and ultimately on reducing the dependence on Hormuz, the French president said.
Macron says France secured gas from Qatar
Macron announced that he had secured a gas agreement with Qatar which would cover France’s needs for the winter period and which will contribute to lowering fuel and transport costs, “reducing pressure on prices from November” and “avoiding difficulties.”
"We secured the equivalent of two terawatt-hours per month of LNG for the winter period, which was important for us and which will allow us to move forward," the French president told the media.
“Our objectives are achieved because we received guarantees on volumes where we had pre-existing uncertainties and all these agreements reassure us for the months to come, to have better conditions for our citizens and to avoid the shortfalls which were predicted by certain (energy) operators,” he added as he sought to lower prices of energy following violent protests over the rising living costs in France.
He explained that France’s energy priority needs were diesel, which he secured in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and then gas, which he obtained in Qatar, as “guaranteed volumes on which we depend, which posed a risk for the next months.”
Macron was accompanied on his Gulf tour by French business leaders including the chief executives of France's largest 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, one of the world's largest.
France secured commitments for an additional 200,000 tonnes of diesel per month from the UAE and Bahrain amid soaring fuel prices.
France to expand defence ties with Qatar
France and Qatar hailed their defence partnership during Macron’s state visit, as France was one of Qatar's main defenders during the Iran war.
Emphasising how “the partnership showed its strength” during the war, Macron announced new agreements to continue supplying Qatar with the new 5th-generation Rafale fighter jets, along with radars, air-defence systems, and armoured vehicles.
Macron said that “all the countries in the region are looking for more autonomy and to develop their own capacity for defence.”
Qatar’s Rafale fighter jets escorted Macron’s plane on his arrival in Doha on Tuesday, both as part of the state visit honours, but also to showcase the defence cooperation between the two countries.
After departing from Qatar, which the Elysee announced as the last country to visit during his Gulf tour, Macron made a surprise stop in Saudi Arabia in a show of support for Riyadh’s efforts to combat the Houthis in Yemen.
During his visit to Doha, he said that France has been working with Saudi Arabia in a “defensive capacity” to secure global energy supplies disrupted by the conflict with the Houthis.
Developing France-Qatar relations
Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani praised the “fruitful” talks with Macron during the first state visit by a French president to Doha.
In a post on X, Sheikh Tamim said that the two leaders “explored ways to strengthen our strategic partnership and expand areas of cooperation between our two countries, alongside exchanging views on the most prominent regional and international issues”.
“We take pride in the progress our relations have achieved and in our shared commitment to entrenching security and stability while serving the mutual interests of our two peoples,” he added.
Qatar’s foreign ministry hailed the visit as “historic” as it “confirmed a strong strategic partnership and the will to strengthen cooperation and coordination on regional and international issues.”
Qatar’s Ambassador to France Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani said both countries sought to expand cooperation in investment, energy, defence, education, healthcare, and technology, including artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and cybersecurity, according to Qatar’s News Agency.
More than 665 French companies operate in Qatar, while bilateral trade in goods between the two countries reached around 6.39 billion riyals in 2025, according to Qatar News Agency.