First modification:
The Government acknowledged that there are damages in a fifth of the country’s service stations. This while the strike of the CGT unions in TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil continues.
Several regions of France continue to experience fuel shortages at gas stations, leading to long lines of vehicles waiting to refuel. According to the Ministry of Energy, a fifth of service stations are dealing with supply problems.
The situation comes as strikes continue at TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil refineries. While on Friday, October 7, 19% of gas stations in the country were facing difficulties, the figure rose to 20.7% this Saturday.
Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher explained in a statement that Emmanuel Macron’s government “is doing everything to restore the situation to normal as soon as possible.” Likewise, she stressed that “it is necessary to find a solution to this conflict as soon as possible.”
The Hauts-de-France and Ile-de-France regions are the most affected, with a high number of stations registering fuel shortages or being out of service.
The website mon-essence.fr shows an interactive map in which some 100,000 users have reported service cuts at gas stations in recent days. Most stations in and around Paris are out of service.
Unions reiterate that the strikes will continue until the Government pays attention to their requests
Reuters agency calculations indicate that the strikes at both refineries have caused total fuel production to be reduced by more than 60%.
The strike by the CGT union at TotalEnergies was mainly to demand higher wages and has led to the interruption of operations at two refineries and two storage plants. The Exxon Mobil strike has similar motivations and began on September 20.
Precisely, a representative of the CGT indicated that today a call would be made to the executive president of TotalEnergies to open exploratory talks before the formal salary negotiations that will take place in November.
For its part, a spokesman for the same union but at Exxon Mobil said that the strike at two of the US company’s French refineries would likely last the entire weekend, with new talks with management scheduled for Monday, October 10.
The Executive calls for calm
The Elysée spokesman, Oliver Véran, assured on Friday that there will be “a few days” of tension but refused to describe the serious situation as a shortage. However, he did acknowledge supply problems in some regions.
To deal with the situation, the Executive opened the strategic reserves while increasing imports. On the other hand, the gas station associations have indicated that the crisis will last at least ten more days, although it will improve.
Previously, the Minister of the Environment, Christophe Bechu, assured the France Info radio network that gasoline for drivers will not be rationed nor will the use of service stations be restricted.
The official also indicated that the government will not impose additional measures, beyond prohibiting the filling of drums in some places. At the same time, he called for calm and “the people’s sense of responsibility.”
With EFE, Reuters and AP
