It is not only already enough that nations are being faced with a double recession inflation and with possible gas and food shortages. Besides the lack of Russian imports France has taken it a step further with the recent refinery strikes making the recent gas situation in France turning chaotic with major shortages in the north and south-east of France and all-around Paris.
On Friday 14thOctober Euronews has reported that some strikes have continued in France’s refineries despite hopes that a pay agreement would alleviate recent fuel shortages. On the same day the CGT trade union rejected a wage increase offer for Total Energies employees ending a three-week strike that has caused fuel shortages across the country. CGT expects a 10% increase in light of rising inflation and windfall profits for energy companies.
“After the meeting was suspended for one hour the management simply came back with a proposal of a twenty euro increase per month“ said Thierry Defresne CGT head of the European works council at TotalEnergies.
“We thought that this was a provocation and so we slammed the door and left the negotiating table.”
The proposal which promised a 7% pay increase and a financial bonus was accepted by two other major unions CFDT and CFE-CGC.
“It can’t go on like this ” said Dominique Convert CFE-CGC union coordinator at TotalEnergies. “We see what is happening in the country and we cannot remain insensitive to it.”
Industrial action at Total Energies and Esso-ExxonMobil refineries has left more than one in every three petrol stations in France without fuel with long lines of motorists forming in recent days.[1]
As of to date 717 (15%) gas stations are completely out of gas and 523 are partially so – (https://penurie.mon-essence.fr/w/).
In the below article a video is shown portraying what the remaining fuel stations look like in Northern France even at midnight.
https://www.bfmtv.com/societe/avec-la-penurie-d-essence-la-tension-monte-dans-les-stations-service_VN-202210070036.html
One expert explained that “this logistical disorganization will produce effects for more than a few days. Improvements are made very quickly within a few days but it takes about ten days for a return to normal”:
With the shortage of gasoline tension rises at gas stations (bfmtv.com)
In the video an angry and frustrated cab driver tells the journalist that if the stations close he cannot work anymore because they have no fuel. He said he cannot take any more customers and in his fifteen years as a cabdriver he has never seen anything like this.
Once a station ran out of fuel it put up a sign showing this hence making drivers turn around and look elsewhere. People became impatient and were honking everywhere as all they wanted was to get fuel and go home.
Although some stations’ tank was supposed to hold for several days faced with such an extraordinary influx the managers were expecting to be out of fuel within twenty-four hours.
Here is another video showing the queue of cars waiting for their turn to get fuel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMBtGnkJK3I
And what did the French government decide to do to help the French nation? It has sent the police to check fuel tanks of people before they refuel!
[1]https://www.euronews.com/2022/10/14/france-fuel-crisis-strikes-continue-as-trade-union-snubs-pay-rise-offer