French fuel industry strike targets service stations and refineries

French fuel industry strike targets service stations and refineries

Service stations around France are expected to close on Friday as staff walk out, while unions will also be blockading several oil refineries.

The CGT union has called a strike on Friday to protest at low pay for employees of the French energy giant Total Energies, particularly those who work in the company’s network of service stations.

The refineries of Gonfreville-l’Orcher (Seine-Maritime), Feyzin (Rhône), La Mède bio-refinery (Bouches-du-Rhône) and the depot of the former Flanders refinery near Dunkirk (Nord) will be blockaded.

The union expects “no product will enter or leave these sites for 24 hours” where production levels will be at a minimum. Walkouts at the Donges refinery (Loire-Atlantique) are also expected.

Total Energies also has a network of service stations, both on autoroutes and smaller roads, and it is expected that some of them will close on Friday, although it is not expected that all will be affected. 

Thierry Defresne, CGT rep for Total Engergies staff, told France Info: “We see that a total of 10 billion dollars have been paid to shareholders for the year 2021. So we think that there is indeed an imbalance.

“In the face of the 2.35 percent that was given to employees at the beginning of the year, if we compare to the 52 percent increase of the CEO, we think that in this story and in the face of the historical record of Total Energies, employees have been forgotten about.”