The French government will order workers back to their jobs at a major fuel refinery as petrol shortages continue amid a long-running national strike for better pay and a share of the oil company’s huge profits .
The government confirmed that the manhunt for essential fuel workers at the blocked Port Jérôme refinery in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon in Normandy will begin on Wednesday. But the controversial move could risk stalling other sectors in support of the fuel strikers.
The government faces a deepening crisis after weeks of walkouts led by the left-wing CGT union, which is seeking big pay rises for workers at two oil companies, France’s TotalEnergies and America’s ExxonMobil. Strikers want better wages amid a cost-of-living crisis and a share of high company profits.
The strikes have brought six of France’s seven fuel refineries to a standstill, prompting a nationwide shortage exacerbated by panic buying by motorists.
At TotalEnergies, the CGT union is seeking an immediate 10% pay rise after a surge in energy prices led to huge profits that allowed the company to pay out around €8 billion in dividends and an additional special dividend to investors Like other oil majors, TotalEnergies’ profits have soared as energy prices rose during the war in Ukraine.
ExxonMobil has held wage talks with staff from two major unions, but CGT refinery workers disagree.
Strikes continued Wednesday at two ExxonMobil-owned refineries and four TotalEnergies sites.
The government process to requisition workers at the Esso-ExxonMobil Normandy refinery in Port Jérôme would depend on the signing of a special decree by the local prefect’s office.
The state has the power to seize refineries and order workers back to their jobs in an emergency, with those who refuse risking fines or prison. It could involve the police and gendarmes delivering notices to workers at their homes. The state would have to show there was an emergency to do so.
Right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy took such a step against striking fuel workers in 2010.
The CGT said it would challenge the demand notices in court once it had received them.
On the picket lines, the threat of government intervention to requisition workers only deepened the resolve of the strikers. On Wednesday morning at the Port Jérôme refinery, 50 striking workers standing next to burning pallets of wood voted unanimously to continue with the strike.
“You are all being targeted, the government wants to force us to come to work, we will fight against this, it is clear that it is a violation of the right to strike. We are being attacked directly for our right to strike,” said Christophe Aubert, delegate of the CGT at ExxonMobil, reported by the AFP news agency.
Aubert said the CGT had reached its 23rd day of strike action at the refinery, which was “historic”.
The crisis comes at a time of high energy prices and inflation, while TotalEnergies’ huge profits have sparked widespread anger and calls for it to face an extraordinary tax. These calls have been rejected by the government.
President Emmanuel Macron wants to prevent the strikes from spreading to other sectors, with some nuclear power plant workers saying on Wednesday they could join the action.
Green MP Sandrine Rousseau told France Info radio: “I hope this will be the spark that starts a general strike.”
TotalEnergies was due to hold a meeting on Wednesday with all unions, including the CGT, to discuss the blockades.
The French oil company has proposed bringing forward annual wage negotiations to start this month, provided stoppages restricting production at some of its sites end. But the CGT has voted to continue the strike.