PARIS (Reuters) – About 10% of service stations in Île-de-France are experiencing supply difficulties, government spokesman Olivier Véran said on Friday morning, as the strike at several French refineries entered on its 11th day.
The at least occasional shortages of gasoline, which had started in the Hauts-de-France region, in the north of the country, have spread in recent days and now concern 15% of service stations at the national level, said Olivier Véran on BFM TV and RMC Info.
The government spokesperson acknowledged that “the weekend will be tense” as the CGT union has promised to continue the strike which is paralyzing several refineries, including the two largest in the country, operated by TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil, as long as his salary demands will not have been heard.
In particular, the CGT is calling for 10% wage increases for TotalEnergies employees to take into account inflation and the rising cost of living while the French energy group is making record profits.
A union spokesman, Thierry Defresne, told Reuters on Friday that the situation was unchanged at the refineries of the striking TotalEnergies.
The social movement, called to “anchor itself in the long term”, according to the CGT, reduces France’s refining capacity by 60%, or 740,000 barrels of oil per day, which requires the government to draw on its “stocks strategic” or to import gasoline.
UNDERESTIMATED SHORTAGE
For the president of the Système U stores, Dominique Schelcher, who reports supply difficulties, the government underestimates the fuel shortage.
“I am a little surprised by the figure of 15% of stations out of stock. For me, this figure, at present, is underestimated”, he said on franceinfo.
He specifies that it was impossible this Friday to order fuel for the north, east and south of France for this weekend. He adds that the situation is getting more complicated “from hour to hour” and calls on the government to draw more on its reserve of strategic stocks to improve the situation.
Olivier Véran repeated on Friday that France was not facing a fuel shortage, but “temporary distribution difficulties”.
“These shortages are accentuated by motorists who fear not having gasoline,” lamented the government spokesperson, calling once again not to panic. “There is concern and a number of our compatriots are going to the stations with their jerry cans,” he noted.
The use of jerrycans has already been banned in Hauts-de-France, where the influx of drivers from Belgium to take advantage of cheaper petrol than in their country has aggravated the difficulties.
STRATEGIC STOCKS
Tensions over supply are also accentuated by the rebate granted by TotalEnergies, which caused a rush to the group’s service stations, underlined Olivier Véran.
The government spokesman ruled out requisitioning the refineries, as suggested by the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, promising instead to draw more from the country’s strategic stocks if the situation requires it. .
“We are careful that this social movement finds a solution quickly, so as not to trigger a spiral of very embarrassing inconveniences”, he however assured.
In an internal communication sent to employees obtained by Reuters, the management of TotalEnergies repeats that wage negotiations will start in November, two months earlier than in previous years, and that they will focus on the group’s “good results”. , wages and inflation.
“The company’s results are exceptional in 2022 and we will not forget you. All employees, all our colleagues will receive their just reward on their payslip before the end of the year”, writes its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pouyanné, in communication.
A spokesperson for the French Union of Petroleum Industries (Ufip) told Reuters that as long as the problem remains logistical, France’s strategic reserves are not affected, thanks to a communicating vessels effect between the regions which have a one-time need for gasoline and those who have a surplus.
Strategic stocks guarantee France to have three months of fuel consumption in advance.
(Report by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Forrest Crellin and Caroline Pailliez, written by Tangi Salaün, edited by Sophie Louet)