In total, between half and two-thirds of French refining capacity was still shut down on Monday evening.
No improvement on the refinery front. The strikers of the sites of Port-Jérôme and Fos-sur-Mer of ExxonMobil, as well as those of the Norman site of TotalEnergies, voted Monday in the middle of the day the renewal of the movement for twenty-four hours. They demand higher salary increases than those already obtained at the level of their professional branch. In total, between half and two-thirds of French refining capacity was therefore still shut down on Monday evening. The movement also affects the fuel depots of La Mède and Donges at TotalEnergies. On Monday, the same proportion of gas stations as on Sunday lacked at least one type of fuel. Professionals are observing a runaway phenomenon, the rush of motorists at the pump fueling stock shortages at service stations, particularly in the Paris region.
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In parallel with these difficulties, the price of diesel jumped by more than 10 cents on average last week in France, to 1.8,035 euros per liter. “We contacted the DGCCRF to ensure that there was no price abuse”, said the Ministry of Energy Transition on Monday. Despite the extension of the social movement, the situation could however improve in the coming days, he argues. The government has indeed released large volumes of fuel from its strategic stocks. It also facilitated delivery conditions between depots and points of sale this weekend. On Monday, the volumes distributed thus increased by 50% in Île-de-France and by 35% in Hauts-de-France. “The deposits are full, we stress at the Ministry of Energy Transition. The challenge is to get the products through the distribution network. »
Distributors also strongly increased imports, particularly from Belgium. “The situation should improve, although it is difficult to say in how many days”, estimates Olivier Gantois, the president of Ufip, the professional federation of the sector.
Throughout the weekend, the government called on the parties to reopen discussions to find a solution to the conflict. The CGT has agreed to limit its demands to wages and the management of TotalEnergies to bring forward the annual wage negotiations from November to October. On the express condition that the strikers suspend their movement. The latter did not want to take this outstretched hand on Monday. “The management of TotalEnergies considers that there is no reason to maintain blockages and that it is time to give way to institutional negotiations in a peaceful climate”the group said in a statement released after the strike was renewed on Monday afternoon. “In the speech of the management, nothing tells us that we are not going to obtain somethingapproves Geoffrey Caillon, CFDT coordinator of the refining branch of TotalEnergies. At the CFDT, we challenge the management on the sharing of value and purchasing power, but we do not shout before it hurts, by putting the whole of France upside down. »
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At the end of September, the CGT perceived an alignment of planets allowing it to put strong pressure on the management of TotalEnergies. The group was already encountering difficulties in supplying its service stations, following the 30% increase in fuel sales thanks to the house discount of 20 centimes per litre. The Feyzin refinery was shut down due to technical problems, reducing the volumes of fuel produced for France. Finally, the protesting union had launched an interprofessional appeal for September 29. Not to mention, slips a union source, “that it only takes a few strikers to force a refinery to stop”.