Arthur de Laborde
Elisabeth Borne organized an emergency meeting in Matignon on Monday, to push the unions to re-establish dialogue with the oil companies to allow the end of the raging social conflict. Indeed, the shortage of gasoline worries the French, who queue for hours to fill their tank.
The government wants to bring the unions back to the negotiating table in the face of the emergency of the fuel shortage. Traveling to Algeria on Monday, Elisabeth Borne first mobilizes her teams and the ministers concerned to do the maximum on the logistical level. Strategic stocks have been released: they must therefore be routed to service stations and this requires a lot of organizational work with road hauliers.
Although a lot of fuel has been released to supply the stations, the shortage is not being reduced. For an adviser, it is the fault of a phenomenon of panic. The members of the government therefore multiply the calls not to rush into the stations. But the entourage of the Prime Minister recognizes that the message is struggling to get through, as the concern is great for many French people.
What strategy for Matignon?
The heart of Matignon’s strategy for the moment is to put pressure on the oil companies and their employees to push them out of the social conflict.
The wage demands are considered legitimate by Elisabeth Borne, but one of her relatives explains that the management of Total and Esso show enough signs of goodwill for the negotiations to take place around a table, without blocking the country.