The government is looking for solutions to the fuel supply problems affecting a large part of France, in particular because of the strikes in the refineries of TotalEnergies. A decree published on Saturday October 8 in Official newspaper exceptionally authorizes trucks of more than 7.5 tons transporting hydrocarbons, which are usually stationary at weekends, to circulate on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to oil depots as well as distribution points and end customers, “considering the tensions on the fuel supply observed on the national territory”.
Pressure on TotalEnergies
On Friday, the president, Emmanuel Macron, launched a “call for calm” towards motorists and ” responsibility ” unions and the management of oil groups in social conflict.
The government has put pressure on oil groups, such as TotalEnergies, whose largest refinery, near Le Havre, as well as several depots are on strike, or Esso ExxonMobil, whose two refineries are stopped at the call of the Confederation General Labor (CGT). “I call on the companies concerned, which, for the most part, still have good results, to also consider requests for salary increases”Olivia Grégoire said on Friday, without mentioning TotalEnergies by name and its $10.6 billion profit in the first half.
A fifth of stations in “difficulty” on Friday
Blockades by strikers lead to lower fuel deliveries, so petrol stations are more often out of stocks of petrol or diesel. TotalEnergies manages almost a third of French stations.
The situation particularly affects the north of France and the Paris region. Friday at midday, “19% of gas stations” in France “experienced difficulties with at least one product”according to the Ministry of Energy Transition, which referred to “in Ile-de-France a stable situation at 25% of stations having a problem with at least one product”. In Pas-de-Calais, 42% of stations were affected on Friday, and 43% in the North, according to the Minister for Energy Transition.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher announced that the government had set up fuel transport from Belgium and by boat via the port of Rouen and recalled that the use of strategic state stocks had been activated on an ad hoc basis.