Prolonged Fuel Strike in France... Government Intervenes to 'Mobilize Necessary Personnel'

Prime Minister ?lisabeth Borne of France
Photo by Reuters-Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] As the fuel supply crisis caused by strikes from major oil company unions such as TotalEnergies in France and ExxonMobil in the United States continues for over three weeks, the government has stepped in.

French Prime Minister ?lisabeth Borne has ordered the conscription of necessary personnel to resolve the oil supply shortage, according to major foreign media reports on the 11th (local time). Prime Minister Borne appeared before the National Assembly that day and announced that she had ordered local government heads to conscript the necessary personnel for oil supply.

The unions of TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil subsidiaries went on strike from the 20th of last month demanding wage increases, and as a result, France is experiencing a fuel supply crisis.

TotalEnergies, France's largest oil company, operates about 3,500 gas stations nationwide, of which one-third are experiencing fuel shortages. In the capital Paris and northern regions of France, gas stations running out of fuel are appearing one after another.

The labor and management of ExxonMobil France reached an agreement the day before, but due to differing opinions among union groups, the strike resumed that day. Among the ExxonMobil unions, the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) and the Confederation of Management ? General Confederation of Executives (CFE-CGC) approved the agreement, but the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and Workers' Force (FO) opposed it.

Prime Minister Borne stated that she cannot tolerate some ExxonMobil unions continuing the strike even after reaching an agreement with management and announced that she would order essential ExxonMobil personnel to return to work.

Borne said, "The strike needs to end immediately," adding, "Actions that block the entire nation cannot be tolerated." She also said, "The government wants the situation to change quickly," and "If necessary, additional measures will be taken." Borne indicated that similar conscription measures could be applied to TotalEnergies as well.

Olivier V?ran, government spokesperson, appeared on RTL Radio that morning and warned, "The strike is dragging on too long," and "If the blockade of gas stations is not lifted immediately, we may order the conscription of necessary personnel to normalize the situation."

Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finance, also emphasized in an interview with Radio France, "The French people should not become collateral victims of the strike," and "A consensus must be reached within the next few hours."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.