Aviation Fuel: Why France Doesn't Tax It

In its weekly question-and-answer format on climate transition, the team behind the podcast "Chaleur humaine," published by Le Monde, tackled a recurring question: why is kerosene used by aircraft not subject to taxation in France, unlike gasoline or diesel used for road vehicles.

According to Le Monde, this exemption originates from an old international legal framework. The Chicago Convention, signed in 1944 and governing global civil aviation, provides an exemption from taxation on fuel used for international flights. This foundational text of modern air transport was supplemented by numerous bilateral agreements between states, which repeat the same exemption principle.

The newspaper also notes that European law governs this issue. The European energy taxation directive provides an exemption for international flight fuel, making unilateral taxation by a single country difficult without risking disadvantaging its airlines against foreign competition.

This complex legal architecture, built over decades, explains why taxing kerosene would require, according to explanations reported by Le Monde, international or at least European coordination, rather than an isolated decision by France.

The issue is part of a broader debate on the aviation sector's contribution to combating climate change, as greenhouse gas emissions linked to air transport continue to raise questions about the fiscal tools available to reduce them.