The government called on Tuesday for the lifting “without delay” of the blockages of fuel depots, threatening to “intervene” to unblock them, its spokesman Olivier Véran said on RTL. “We are doing everything we can to put an end to this situation,” he added the day after an emergency meeting at Matignon, mentioning the possibility of making requisitions or reopening access to depots.
Borne announces the requisition of personnel to unblock Esso-Exxonmobil depots
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced on Tuesday the requisition of personnel for the unblocking of the Esso-Exxonmobil group’s fuel depots, where a wage agreement was concluded on Monday by two trade union organizations, the majority at the group level but not at its refineries. .
“Social dialogue means moving forward, once a majority has emerged. These are not minimum agreements. Management announcements are significant. Therefore, I asked the prefects to engage, as permitted by law, the procedure for requisitioning the personnel essential to the operation of the depots of this company”, declared Ms. Borne during questions to the government.
“The government is calling for all the blockages to be lifted without delay. Otherwise, we will take our responsibilities, that is to say, we may have to lift them,” he said.
The difference between Exxon and TotalEnergies
Olivier Véran made the difference between the situation at Exxon, where “there is no longer any reason for there to be any blockage” after the agreement between management and the unions on Monday, and at TotalEnergies, where “the CGT continues to call for blocking”, which “we consider excessive and abnormal”. “The management of Total is right to ask for the lifting of the blockages before discussing”, according to him.
If the situation does not improve “very quickly”, the government could “unblock, reopen access to depot centers and refineries, and then requisition the appropriate personnel to be able to allow the situation to normalize”, explained Olivier Veran. He estimated that regaining “normal functioning” in the most affected regions would “take a few days”, and assured that “this will be the case within 15 days”, i.e. before the All Saints holidays.
He also considered it abnormal that “a few strike profiteers” have caused “the prices of gasoline at the pump” to jump in certain stations.
Requisitions already mentioned
The government “discusses with Total with a view to there being an extension over a few days of the rebate” put in place by the group, according to the spokesperson. “The days of blocking access to fuel that we are experiencing will also lead to extensions – this is what we are asking Total – of discounts”, confirmed his colleague in charge of Transport, Clément Beaune, on RMC. This rebate of 20 cents per liter granted by the energy company was supposed to end on November 1.
On the other hand, concerning the rebate of the State, which must drop from 30 to 10 centimes on the same date, Mr. Beaune affirmed that “for the moment we keep our calendar”. “We have to find our balance between purchasing power – this is obviously the priority -, the ecological transition, we must not lose course, and public finances because obviously all of this is paid for. by someone, the taxpayer”, added Clément Beaune.
Clément Beaune also mentioned requisitions to unblock fuel depots: “There is no taboo, all options are on the table”, he assured.