On Saturday, three of the six French refineries were still shut down, according to the CGT: the largest refinery of TotalEnergies, in Normandy, as well as the two French refineries of the American Esso-ExxonMobil. “We are around 70% strikers,” said Christophe Aubert, elected CGT at ExxonMobil, “these are the same workforce all weekend, so it should not move and, there, nothing comes out”.
In addition, at the TotalEnergies refinery in Feyzin (Rhône), “there were 100% strikers in the dispatch service at 6:00 a.m.,” Pedro Afonso, elected CGT, told AFP. “Usually, there are 250 to 300 trucks a day and between 30 and 50 wagons. There is nothing that will come out, ”he added, even if the refinery continues to produce.
At the French energy company, in addition to its Normandy refinery, the strikers have been massively mobilized in recent days at the Flanders fuel depot, near Dunkirk (North), at the “bio-refinery” of La Mède (Bouches-du-Rhône ) and at the Grandpuits fuel depot (Seine-et-Marne) in particular, to limit the outflow of petroleum products as much as possible, according to the CGT.
Lockdowns by strikers
However, the Grandpuits fuel depot is not in operation on weekends, according to TotalEnergies.
Blockades by strikers lead to lower fuel deliveries, so petrol stations are more often out of stocks of petrol or diesel. TotalEnergies manages almost a third of French stations.
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 of 30 centimes.