PARIS — The French government is feeling the heat as strikes at oil refineries and storage facilities have led to fuel shortages across the country.
Budget Minister Gabriel Attal on Monday blamed hard left union CGT, which has been leading the strikes over the situation as long lines have formed in front of petrol stations over the past few days.
“The heart of this problem is the blocking of refineries and fuel depots by the CGT, which wants to anticipate a number of discussions on wages,” Attal told FranceInter radio. “It [has been] a nightmare weekend for millions of motorists.”
Workers unions have called for strikes in a bid to obtain salary raises, disrupting operations in refineries run by ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies. An unusually high demand also aggravated the problem in some areas, leading the government to warn against panic-buying.
As of Sunday afternoon, about a third of fuel stations in France were experiencing supply “difficulties” for at least one fuel product, according to an Energy Ministry spokesperson.
Right-wing opposition players were quick to blame the government. Over the weekend, far-right leader Marine Le Pen accused President Emmanuel Macron’s government of not anticipating this problem. Right-wing Les Républicains also joined the attacks.
Panic-buying
The government has taken a series of measures to try to ease the situation over the past few days, including tapping into the country’s strategic oil reserves.
Several ministers last week ramped up the pressure on oil companies, urging them to engage in negotiations with unions and highlighting their hefty profits.
TotalEnergies on Sunday said it would bring forward annual salary negotiations but only if trade unions stopped the strike. In a statement quoted by Reuters, CGT slammed TotalEnergies’ proposal as “blackmail.”
Attal however seemed to point his finger at the unions, saying he had “a hard time” understanding “a preventive strike.”
On Sunday, Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher called on motorists not to panic-buy fuel. “We are facing a rush to the gas stations beyond the usual fuel consumption,” she said in a statement, noting that fuel demand increased as much as 30 percent in certain areas.
