French government intervenes in energy workers’ strike

The French government has said it will force some striking energy staff to resume essential services as a two-week stand-off with unions over wages escalates and fuel shortages spread to petrol stations across the country.

Using existing legislation aimed at keeping crucial services running, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on Tuesday told local prefects to “requisition” workers at ExxonMobil storage facilities, which have been at a standstill for two weeks.

A similar measure was imposed in 2010 during strikes at French refineries but was later found by a court to be in breach of the law because it was applied too broadly.

“All cards are on the table, the goal is to unlock the situation,” transport minister Clément Beaune told RMC radio earlier on Tuesday.

Refineries and depots operated by ExxonMobil in France have been hit by stoppages, although some unions agreed to a pay deal with the US group on Monday. French oil major TotalEnergies has also been locked in a dispute with the hard-left CGT union over salaries, which has brought several refineries and a large fuel depot to a halt.

The dispute has blown up into a big problem for the French government as businesses and drivers struggle to fill up their cars, forcing the state to release strategic fuel stocks to try to supplement deliveries.

In addition, some of the government’s efforts to try to combat an energy crisis with state-subsidised fuel discounts — and after it leaned on Total to slash its prices at the pump — now risk backfiring after causing a run on the cheapest gas stations.

French economy minister Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday told France Info radio that the government would have “no other choice” but to intervene across the energy sector if trade unions did not engage in salary negotiations.

Emmanuel Lépine, who heads the CGT refinery union, told France Info that any government intervention to requisition workers would trigger a strong backlash. “It would be war,” he said.

As well as strikes at refineries, a Total fuel storage facility in northern France has been blocked since September 27, exacerbating problems in the region where almost half of all forecourts have run out of some products or been forced to shut.

“French people cannot be collateral victims of a stand-off between a trade union and a private company,” said Le Maire. “This issue needs to be solved in hours and days, not weeks. It has already gone on for far too long.”

Energy sector workers have been striking over wages and the rising cost of living, with those at Total calling for a 10 per cent pay rise after the company reported bumper profits on the back of soaring commodities prices.

The CGT has so far rejected overtures from Total, which said on Sunday it had already agreed to an average 3.5 per cent salary rise for 2022 but was ready to bring forward annual 2023 wage talks to this month if the blockages stopped.

Two other unions, the CFE-CGC and CFDT, have agreed to a revised salary package offered by Esso France, the French arm of ExxonMobil.

About a third of all petrol stations across France are now experiencing shortages, the energy ministry said. Even some forecourts on France’s western coast, far from the blocked depot, are starting to run dry, and the government has urged drivers not to panic buy.

Drivers rushing to fill their tanks at petrol stations have caused logjams across the Paris region too. Thomas Engoume, a 24-year-old motorbike mechanic working in the east of Paris, said it would be “helpful” if the government put an end to the strikes.

Engoume said he was unable to stock spare fuel, which he needs to repair broken-down vehicles, and many of his clients had cancelled appointments because they were unable to travel to his shop.

“They may have a good reason to strike, but all in all it causes more harm to us than it can potentially benefit them, so they need to find another way,” he added.