The administrative court of Rouen examined Saturday afternoon the request for interim relief from the CGT contesting the legality of the requisitions of strikers from the TotalEnergies refinery of Gonfreville-L’Orcher (Seine-Maritime) operated Friday by the prefecture, learned the AFP from concordant sources.
On Friday, the Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher announced the requisitions by the Seine-Maritime prefecture of several refinery strikers to supply Paris airports with kerosene.
In their appeal, the CGT lawyers argued that the law only authorizes requisitions in cases “major event of the highest severity“. The request also points out that the oil installations are included in the list of services “not subject to any restriction on the exercise of the right to strike». «No service essential to the safety of people and property is affected by the supply difficulties“, they assure.
“Lunar” arguments
At the end of the hearing, the lawyer for the CGT of TotalEnergies Elsa Marcel castigated the arguments “lunarof the prefecture. “It paints an apocalyptic portrait of the situation in Roissy, where there are 25,000 travelers wandering around. (…) It also highlights air safety“, declared Me Marcel to AFP. “The reality is that the government wants to end this strike and acts as if there is a compelling reason. But we’re not talking about gasoline for ambulances, we’re talking about kerosene for planes. (…) When workers stop working, yes, there are production cuts“, she insisted.
For his part, the CGT general secretary of TotalEnergies Alexis Antonioli welcomed, an audience “well supported outsideof the court, evoking a gathering of several dozen people. The decision is expected by Sunday evening.