Ophélie Artaud, with AFP 2:45 p.m., January 14, 2023
Several unions in the oil sector, in particular the CGT oil, have announced that they are joining the mobilization on January 19 to protest against the pension reform.
They have already called for several days of strikes, on January 19 but also on January 26 and February 6.
Could this cause further shortages at gas stations?
Towards new shortages in service stations?
Several unions in the oil sector have announced their desire to join the national mobilization of January 19 against the pension reform.
But the federations are also planning beyond this day.
The CGT Petroleum is calling for strikes on January 19 and 26, but also on February 6 with "if necessary, the shutdown of refining facilities", according to a press release issued by Éric Sellini, national coordinator of the union for TotalEnergies.
These could also be longer and longer, because if the first notice is 24 hours, those of February 26 and 6 provide for work stoppages of 24 and 48 hours.
"One month of stock"?
A possibility of blockage which inevitably recalls the fuel shortages of last October when, following strikes in the refineries, certain French service stations were no longer supplied, causing endless queues for those who wanted to fill up.
However, the risk of a shortage would not necessarily be immediate.
According to Francis Pousse, the president of the service stations and new energies of Mobilians, a professional union which represents 5,800 traditional stations, "we have one month of stock […] Apart from the depot capacities of the refineries, there are 200 deposits scattered on French territory. The stocks are relatively large
,
" he said on France Bleu.
If it is too early to know if these strike calls will be followed by refinery employees, the government is already taking the subject seriously.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne notably called on the unions to "responsibility" for "not penalizing the French".