Around a week for French fuel shortages to end, Macron estimates
Union leaders say strike action has today been renewed in five refineries
President Emmanuel Macron has said that the fuel shortages being experienced by around one in three French petrol stations could come to an end ‘over the course of the coming week’
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The fuel shortages being experienced by around one in three French petrol stations could be resolved “over the course of the coming week”, President Emmanuel Macron said last night.
Read more: French fuel shortage: How to check stocks at your local petrol station
Government sources later confirmed to France Télévisions that this would mean a return to normal in the next seven to 10 days.
Mr Macron was speaking during an interview on the first episode of L’Événement, a new political interview programme on France 2.
TotalEnergies’ Jean-Marc Durand had previously told BFMTV on Monday (October 10) that refineries would need “a good week” to get back to normal after the strikes come to an end.
Read more: French fuel shortages: When might supplies return to normal?
Today (October 13), the TotalEnergies strike has been renewed in five refineries, the CGT union has announced.
Union coordinator Eric Sellini said: “The strike has been renewed in the Normandy, Donges, Feyzin and Mède refineries and the Flandes depot.”
The CGT “categorically” refused to accept the company’s demand that fuel deliveries begin at 05:00 this morning before salary negotiations could start at 08:00.
“We have consulted with the strikers and received a massive, categorical refusal; they do not want this demand in order to be able to negotiate,” CGT secretary Thierry Defresne said.
At TotalEnergies, the CGT is asking for a 10% pay rise for workers in line with inflation and to better distribute the $10.6billion TotalEnergies made in profits in the first half of 2022.
At the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery in Port-Jérôme/Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, four staff have been required to return to work as part of a government réquisition ordering that enough employees be present for a minimum service to be provided.
CGT leader Philippe Martinez has described this as a “scandalous decision”.
The ecological transition ministry has said that 30.8% of petrol stations were seeing shortages of one or several fuels yesterday evening, with the situation being particularly severe in Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France and Centre-Val-de-Loire.
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