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«Some effortsfor employees: while nearly one in five stations were in difficulty on Friday, the French government put pressure on TotalEnergies to put an end to the social conflict which has been causing fuel shortages in its stations for the past week. service, and whose end does not seem in sight. “I call on the companies concerned, which for the most part still have good results, to also consider requests for salary increases“, said Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate for Small and Medium Enterprises, on France Info, without mentioning TotalEnergies by name and its 10.6 billion dollars of profit in the first half. “We expect companies (…) to make efforts towards employees“, did she say.

A few hours later, Emmanuel Macron also spoke on the subject from Prague, on the sidelines of a European summit. During a press conference on Friday, the President of the Republic urged the French not to give in to the “panic“. And to seek to temporize:The government is fully mobilizedand sends a “call for calm“. According to the Head of State, the oil groups in question “are in the process of finalizing wage negotiations so that their employees can return to work as soon as possible.“Emmanuel Macron calls employees to the”responsibility“. The opportunity also to confirm that the government “acted to mobilize the strategic reserves and our available capacities in order to be able to release them and supply the service stations which were out of stock.»

Same story for Elisabeth Borne, who also called for “the responsibility» the management of the oil groups and the staff representatives so that the «successful salary negotiationsand put an end to the strikes. “I really call on the management and employee representatives of these companies to take responsibility so that these wage negotiations – since that is what it is all about – succeed and do not penalize the French“, declared the head of government after an intervention in Bordeaux, during the Convention of intermunicipalities of France.

Three refineries shut down

During a tense microphone on Friday, the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, clarified that the social movement mainly affected three refineries and two fuel depots. The largest TotalEnergies refinery, near Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), is shut down. Other sites of the group are on strike. And the two French refineries of its American competitor Esso-ExxonMobil are also shut down, in both cases at the call of the CGT, in order to obtain a wage increase.

At the French oil company, the strikers were massively mobilized at the Flanders fuel depot, near Dunkirk (North), at the “bioraffinerie“La Mède (Bouches-du-Rhône) and at the Grandpuits fuel depot (Seine-et-Marne) in particular, in order to limit the outflow of petroleum products as much as possible, according to the CGT. The mobilization was much lower – 10 to 30% strikers – at the Feyzin refinery (Rhône), but concentrated on the strategic shipping department, where the CGT claimed “between 80 and 100% strikersPedro Afonso, elected CGT representative of this refinery, told AFP.

Just under 20% of stations in difficulty

Blockades by strikers lead to lower fuel deliveries, so petrol stations are more often out of stocks of petrol or diesel. TotalEnergies manages nearly a third of French stations: the social movement is therefore felt across France. But the group also puts the disturbances on the account of the success of the discount at the pump of 20 centimes which it grants since September 1, in addition to the rebate of the State.

The troubles affect only one “limited number of stations“, wanted to reassure Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Friday, reporting”80% [qui] operate normallyand 19% experiencing “difficulties”. Strong local disparities persist, with the departments of Hauts-de-France being particularly affected: in Pas-de-Calais, “42%“stations were in difficulty on Friday, against 52% the day before. Figures established respectively at 43% and 47% in the North, still according to the minister, who relied on feedback from the prefects.

«important“The tensions are gradually easing, she added, but the return to normal will take time. In addition to the use of strategic stocks to relieve stations, fuel was transported from Belgium as well as by boat from Rouen. Tanker trucks will also be exceptionally authorized to circulate on Sunday because of the “fairly localized but significant difficulties“, announced Clément Beaune, who reunited Friday morning the transporters’ federationsto see locally where we can improve the supply».

calls for calm

Several ministers have also asked the French to avoid increasing panic buying, which risks aggravating the situation. Worried motorists may havetendency to go [leur] fuller than usual, which can induce additional pressure” on the stations, noted Agnès Pannier-Runacher, adding that the services of the State had indeed noted a “augmentation» fuel sales on national territory. The behavior of certain motorists has also prompted the State to prohibit the sale and purchase of fuel in jerrycans and cans, in particular in certain departments of Hauts-de-France. “Those who can wait a little bit, do not rush to gas stations because it will increase the problem“Asked Clément Beaune during a press briefing.

The return to normal will take time, despite an improvement at the end of the week. “This is a logistical matter, no availability“, specified the Minister in charge of Energy Transition. For their part, the strikers are inflexible. From the Feyzin refinery, Pedro Afonso lamented a “complete radio silence from our management who do not meet us and who absolutely do not want to move things forward».

Read alsoWhy TotalEnergies is still betting on oil

While the CGT is calling for a 10% increase over 2022 — 7% for inflation, 3% for “wealth sharing” –, management has recalled from the start that it has granted salary measures representing an average increase of 3.5% in 2022 and refers to a negotiation session scheduled for November 15… for salaries for 2023. “If we have to hold out until November 15, there are no worries.“, assured Pedro Afonso, ensuring that he could count on an important”solidarity fund“, created to compensate for any loss of wages that the conflict would cause for the strikers.

SEE ALSO – Strike of September 29: “It’s very difficult to re-engage people“says Pierre Lepelletier

The hydrocarbon giant TotalEnergies was forced to start shutting down the Normandy refinery near Le Havre, the largest in France, on Wednesday, as a result of a strike for purchasing power at the call of the CGT, we were told. learned from consistent sources.

This shutdownFor safety reasons”, is “not yet effective because it requires several days“said TotalEnergies. According to the oil group, it does not jeopardize the supply of service stations in the short term, even if it represents some 22% of refining capacity in France, according to data from Ufip (oil groups).

SEE ALSO – Gasoline prices: White House asks refiners to increase production