By Benoit Van Overstraeten
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government stands ready to intervene to break the deadlock in the weeks-long refinery strike that have left a third of the country’s fuel stations running short, government ministers said on Tuesday.
The strikes have put pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s government, as rising inflation has led to higher household bills in France, and French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne held a crisis meeting on Monday to deal with the shortage issues.
“We must find an agreement in the coming hours,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told French radio.
“Our compatriots must not be collateral victims,” added Le Maire.
Both Le Maire and French government spokesman Olivier Veran added the government could intervene to end the blockades.
Veran said the government could order the requisitioning of staff to end the petrol depot blockades, and that it could again dip into the country’s strategic reserves of fuel if needed.
More than 60% of France’s refining capacity has been taken offline by the strikes, driving diesel prices higher and prompting the country to increase imports of the fuel.
The industrial action, led by France’s CGT trade union, has mainly affected refineries and depots of French oil major TotalEnergies but also facilities of U.S. giant Exxon Mobil in France.
At the latter, an end of the strike seems in sight as negotiations between management and unions have resumed, but the situation is still in a deadlock at TotalEnergies.
“There is only one way out and that is to put an end to the strike,” Beaune said, adding the government will ask TotalEnergies to extend for several days its rebates scheme on fuel prices.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
