Paris (AFP)
"The refineries are turning" in France and send fuel, a sign that the social conflict on pensions "is perhaps less strong than some would like to say," said Tuesday the CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné.
"There is a lot of noise about this social movement. The truth is that, unlike what happened during the El Khomri law (of 2016) and other movements, the refineries did not stop" , he replied to journalists on the sidelines of a conference in Paris.
"We had experienced refinery shutdowns during the El Khomri law so I think that also means somewhere that perhaps the conflict is there but it may be less strong than some would like to say", a- he continued.
The CGT had called for a halt to shipments to all refineries up to and including January 16, as part of the conflict against pension reform.
"So that a refinery does not stop, that means that the expeditions are working," observed Patrick Pouyanné. "Of course the flow has decreased, we have to be at 60-65% on average, but it turns," according to him.
Metropolitan France has eight refineries, five of which belong to Total, including the La Mède biorefinery.
"The country continues to be supplied as it should be with petroleum fuels," said Patrick Pouyanné.
"The refineries have less influence today on the supply of the service station network because the supply is diversified, it has a lot of deposits, there are imports ...", he said. also explained.
In addition, the movement will have "a little" impact on Total's financial results but this is not the only factor because, moreover, "at the moment, overall, the refining margins are not good".
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