Key takeaway
What This Development Means
France's amended B7 diesel and E5 and E10 petrol specifications are already in force. Fuel producers, importers, laboratories, terminals and retailers should update quality documents, verify the diesel particle-certification point, check the 2 mg/l manganese limit and add French pump information wherever petrol contains metallic additives.
When did France's revised fuel specifications take effect?
The order was published in the French Official Journal on 26 August 2026 and entered into force the following day, 27 August. It states no separate transition period, so affected quality and market-placement controls should already reflect the amendments.
Where does the B7 particle limit apply?
The 10,000-particle limit applies at the certification point. For production within a European Committee for Standardization country, this is production or certification. For fuel made outside those countries, the point is import into a participating country.
Source basis: Légifrance, order amending diesel and unleaded petrol specifications (26 August 2026)
France has updated the binding specifications for B7 diesel, E5 petrol and E10 petrol, aligning national requirements with the July 2025 editions of European fuel standards. The ministerial order was published on 26 August 2026 and entered into force on 27 August, affecting businesses that place road fuels on the French market.
France fuel specifications add particle and manganese controls
For B7 diesel, the order introduces a maximum particle count of 10,000 particles measuring at least four micrometres per millilitre. The limit applies at the particle-certification point rather than at every downstream location. For fuel produced in a country participating in the European Committee for Standardization, that point is production or certification. For fuel produced outside those countries, it is import into one of them.
The order also updates diesel density to a range of 815 to 845 kilograms per cubic metre at 15°C and adjusts oxidation-stability provisions. These technical parameters matter to refiners, blenders, importers and laboratories because certificates of analysis and release procedures must reflect the amended legal specifications.
For both E5 and E10 petrol, manganese is capped at 2 milligrams per litre. Pumps dispensing petrol that contains metallic additives must carry clear, legible information in French stating that the fuel contains metallic additives. E10 vapour-pressure provisions are also revised.
What changed from the previous position
The order amends three existing fuel-specification orders to reflect the July 2025 revisions of NF EN 590 for automotive diesel and NF EN 228 for unleaded petrol. It also repeals a 2010 order that separately addressed information for fuels containing metallic additives, while carrying the relevant pump-information requirement into the updated framework.
The underlying categories remain recognisable: B7 is diesel containing up to 7% fatty acid methyl ester, while E5 and E10 refer to petrol with different permitted ethanol content. The new order does not replace other duties covering fuel taxation, transport, storage, product safety or environmental permits.
Implications across the fuel supply chain
Producers and blenders need revised specifications and quality plans. Importers must identify the correct certification point and obtain suitable test evidence. Terminals and distributors should prevent off-specification commingling, while testing bodies should confirm methods, reporting limits and accreditation scope. Service stations need to check pump information where metallic additives are present.
Inference: limiting the diesel particle count at a defined certification point places particular weight on chain-of-custody evidence. Downstream contamination may still create contractual or product-quality risk even where the legal particle measurement was compliant when certified.
Practical stakeholder actions
Update purchasing specifications, certificates of analysis, laboratory instructions and product-release checklists to the amended B7, E5 and E10 requirements. Confirm which site is the particle-certification point for imported diesel. Audit manganese results and metallic-additive declarations for petrol, then inspect affected dispensers for a visible French notice. Record implementation from 27 August 2026 because the order provides no separate transition.
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