France needs to import biofuels.
A shame when initially, they were to help reduce its energy dependence.
This is one of the lessons of the report published Monday by the Court of Auditors on the subject.
France is promoting the development of both biodiesel and bioethanol, produced from agricultural materials.
Regulations aim to increase their share of fuels and tax incentives encourage more use.
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However, France imports more than it produces - and yet it produces a lot.
"The overall balance of trade in biofuels has been in deficit since 2016, mainly due to intra-European acquisitions, and continues to widen"
, write the magistrates of rue Cambon.
In 2019, before the health crisis, the deficit reached 472 million euros.
Upstream of the sector, the share of volumes from French fields has declined in recent years.
Downstream, the share of biofuels produced in French factories has fallen sharply.
"Production has leveled off for ten years in our country and industrial groups are experiencing difficulties linked to stronger competition"
, explains the Court of Auditors.
The trend could change over the next few years, however.
TotalEnergies has in fact planned to transform its Grandpuits refinery into a biorefinery to manufacture biofuels from used cooking oils, vegetable oils and animal fats.
It will be the second of the group, after that of La Mède, in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
