Strikes that have engulfed several French refineries and fuel depots resumed on Saturday at oil companies TotalEnergies and Esso-ExxonMobil (USA), according to the General Union of Workers.
CGT said today that three of the six French refineries are still closed: “the largest TotalEnergies refinery in Normandy, as well as two French refineries owned by US company Esso-ExxonMobil.”
“We’re about 70 percent of the strikers,” said Christophe Ober, CGT’s choice at ExxonMobil. “It’s the same workforce here all weekend, so you don’t have to move and nothing comes out.”
Also, at the TotalEnergies refinery in Fayazine (Rhône), Pedro Afonso, elected from CGT, told AFP: “At 6:00 am, there were 100% strikers in the cargo hold.
He added: “Typically there are 250 to 300 trucks a day and 30 to 50 cars… nothing comes out… even if the plant continues to produce.”
At the French energy company, as well as at its Normandie refinery, strikers have in recent days carried out mass mobilizations at the Flanders fuel depot, near Dunkirk (north), at the “bio-refinery” and at the Grandpuy fuel depot in the Seine. – In particular, Marne, in order to limit the outflow of oil products as much as possible, reports CGT.
However, according to TotalEnergies, the Grandpuits fuel depot is closed on weekends.
The blockade of the strikers results in reduced fuel supplies, which is why gas stations often run out of petrol or diesel, and TotalEnergies operates almost a third of France’s gas stations.
Source: “BFMTV”