French Fuel Shortages Ease Slightly Despite CGT Union Strike

(Bloomberg) -- Supplies of fuel in France eased slightly on Saturday even as the hard-left CGT union extended a walkout into next week at TotalEnergies SE refineries.

Some 27.3% of filling stations in France were short of at least one fuel on Saturday, government data showed, compared with 28.5% on Friday. Availability in the Paris region worsened, though.

Strikers at TotalEnergies’ refineries voted to extend their movement, in some cases at least through Oct. 18, AFP reported, a day on which the CGT and other unions have called for a nationwide strike that may affect the Paris transit system, the national railways and Electricite de France SA. However, it’s not clear how widely followed that strike will be. 

The continued walkout at TotalEnergies’ sites contrasts with the decision by workers at two refineries owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. They have returned to work and Exxon said on Friday that the refineries could return to full operation within two to three weeks.

On Friday, the CGT rejected TotalEnergies’s offer for a 7% increase in 2023 wages, after demanding a 10% raise. The French oil major called for all strikes to end as two other unions, which together represent a majority of workers, agreed to the deal.

Inflation in excess of 6% and record profits at oil companies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have driven support for industrial action. Prices have headd higher while motorists have faced lengthy lines at the pump.

The government started releasing strategic reserves Sept. 21 to ease fuel shortages and has stepped up the pace since last week. It has also forced some staff back to work so deliveries could resume a TotalEnergies depot in northern France.

While the right to strike is guaranteed by the French constitution, the government can requisition workers or limit that right under certain circumstances.

(Updates data on fuel shortages in second paragraph.)

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