FILE: Paris, France - April 27, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of French national flag atop building

FILE: Paris, France - April 28, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of traffic

FILE: Paris, France - May 2026 (CGTN - No access in Chinese mainland)
3. Various of gas station, screens displaying fuel prices; cars at gas station

FILE: Paris, France - Oct 10, 2022 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of lines of vehicles waiting for refueling at gas station
5. Various of people refueling cars

FILE: Bratislava, Slovakia - Sept 30, 2023 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Bratislava Castle, Slovak national flag

FILE: Bratislava, Slovakia - July 20, 2015 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Slovak national flag, EU flag
8. Slovak national emblem

FILE: Bratislava, Slovakia - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Traffic

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced Wednesday that France will release 10 million barrels of diesel from its strategic reserves to help ease pressure on the fuel market.

The diesel reserves will be made available to distributors in France, a measure that would "mechanically lower prices at the pump" by around "12 to 18 euro cents per liter of diesel," Lecornu said, adding that he would soon sign a decree allowing the operation, which is expected to last three months.

Lecornu also called on France's state-owned electricity utility company EDF to maximize its production capacity, with the aim of ensuring that electricity prices do not increase this winter.

The move came amid continued rises in fuel prices, with the conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz putting further pressure on the market.

According to French television channel TF1 on Tuesday, the average price of diesel stood at 2.35 euros (2.63 U.S. dollars) per liter, while the price of SP95-E10 gasoline, the most widely sold gasoline in France, stood at 2.14 euros per liter.

On Wednesday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Europe is currently facing severe challenges in oil and fuel supply, and that the European energy market may come under huge pressure this fall and winter.

Fico noted that the European fuel market is currently being affected by multiple factors.

On the one hand, there is the conflict between Iran and the United States; on the other hand, Europe's refining capacity is gradually declining, and some countries that used to export petroleum products now need to import large quantities of such products instead.

Fico pointed out that pressure on Europe's diesel supply is particularly acute at present, which could further drive up diesel prices.

He said that resolving the issues facing the fuel market cannot rely solely on individual measures taken by European Union (EU) member states. He expressed hope that the upcoming EU summit would find solutions to these issues.

Recently, diesel prices in Europe have remained persistently high, and the U.S. government's threat to ban diesel exports has further intensified market concerns about Europe's energy supply.

In a social media post on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that energy prices and the measures the EU will take to address rising energy prices will be key topics at the EU summit.