Olivier Véran, the government spokesman, warned this Tuesday morning on RTL that the blockages in the refineries must be lifted “without delay”, in the face of the shortages affecting the service stations. Otherwise the government will intervene, he threatens. “We could be led to lift them”, now that “the strike has lasted, is lasting too long and has consequences”, he warns.
“We are doing everything we can to put an end to this situation,” he added the day after an emergency meeting at Matignon, mentioning the possibility of making requisitions or reopening access to depots. He believes that “social dialogue has paid off” at Exxon, and that the CGT’s call to continue the strike at TotalEnergies is “excessive and abnormal”. “The management of Total is right to ask for the lifting of the blockages before discussing”, according to him.
Back to normal “within 15 days”
If the situation does not improve “very quickly”, the government could “unblock, reopen access to depots and refineries, and then requisition the appropriate personnel to be able to allow the situation to normalize”, explained Olivier Veran. The return to “normal operation” in the most affected regions should “take a few days”, he warns, assuring that “this will be the case within 15 days”, i.e. before the All Saints’ Day holidays.
He also considered it abnormal that “a few strike profiteers” have caused “the prices of gasoline at the pump” to jump in certain stations. The government “is discussing with Total with a view to extending the discount over a few days” put in place by the group, according to the spokesperson.