The four most important refineries in France have been on strike since the end of September. The strike is now threatening the supply situation with petrol – more than a fifth of the gas stations have problems with supplies. President Macron urges both sides to be reasonable.
Motorists in France must continue to adjust to scarce fuel at petrol stations. The strike at the Total Energies refineries has been extended until at least Tuesday, according to the television channel Franceinfo. Accordingly, the strike is now to be extended to fifteen motorway service stations of a subsidiary of Total Energies.
The strikes are already threatening the supply of petrol – more than a fifth of the petrol stations in France are having problems with supplies, as the government announced at the weekend. President Emmanuel Macron called on all sides to be responsible. “Blocking is not a negotiation path,” he said on the sidelines of a press conference in Château-Gontier.
Most recently, the CTG union said the strikes were continuing everywhere. While talks with Exxon Mobil have been going on for weeks, Total Energies has not yet succeeded in bringing management to the negotiating table.
According to the government, the country’s four most important refineries have been affected by the strike that has been going on since the end of September, three of which are at a standstill. The workers at Total are demanding a 10 percent wage increase. The high energy prices bring the group high profits, which prompted Total to pay out around eight billion euros in dividends and a special dividend to investors. CEO Patrick Pouyanne said last week that the time had come to reward the workers. He has so far refused to start salary negotiations.
Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said the government is doing its best to resolve the conflict. 20.7 percent of gas stations in the country have problems replenishing at least one product. Gasoline rationing is out of the question. “We’re not at that point yet,” said Environment Minister Christophe Bechu. He called on the population to remain calm. In some parts of France there is already a ban on the sale of petrol in cans or similar containers.
