PARIS: The French government on Tuesday threatened to forcibly break blockades of refineries and oil depots, which have been paralysed by strike action, and said it would force some workers to return to their jobs.
Motorists continued to besiege petrol stations many of which were low on, or out of, petrol, as strike action at energy giant TotalEnergies and other oil majors entered its third week and wage talks stalled.
Government ministers and President Emmanuel Macron have urged a negotiated resolution to the crisis, but on Tuesday government spokesman Olivier Veran threatened force to end the blockades which have paralysed several of France’s refineries and oil depots.
If blockades were not ended “immediately”, Veran told the RTL broadcaster, “we could intervene to lift them”. He said ongoing action by the hard-left CGT union at TotalEnergies installations was “excessive and out of line”. Also on Tuesday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called breaking up the blockades “the only solution”.
But stoppages continued at several refineries, including at France’s biggest near Le Havre in the north of the country, after strikers at Total Energies on Tuesday voted to extend their action.
“We are still waiting for details from management on what they want to negotiate on,” Eric Sellini, coordinator for the CGT union at the oil major, said.
The CGT at the French branch of Esso-ExxonMobil on Tuesday also renewed its strike call, even though it was outvoted on Monday by a majority of other union representatives who signed a pay deal. — AFP
