Strikes end at some of TotalEnergies' French refineries
Reuters
Published Oct 19, 2022 08:17
Updated Oct 19, 2022 22:30
PARIS (Reuters) -Workers voted to end a strike at TotalEnergies (LON:TTEF)' Donges refinery on Wednesday, bolstering the government's hopes the supply situation at petrol stations around the country will rapidly improve.
Strikes were suspended at two other refineries in the North and Bouches-du-Rhone regions, but were being maintained at a site at Gonfreville, a CGT union representative told AFP.
CGT union representatives did not respond to calls after working hours by Reuters.
With an eye on the autumn school break that starts at the end of the week, members of the French government, who forced some fuel depot staff to return to work earlier this week, repeated that a back to normal situation was within reach.
TotalEnergies has been hit by strikes at its refinery sites in France for nearly a month, as workers seek higher salary increases they say would better reflect rising inflation.
The protests have disrupted the supply of petrol to service stations, leading to long lines of motorists queuing to fill up cars and causing general public anger.
Government spokesperson Olivier Veran said earlier the number of French petrol stations facing supply problems due to the strike was now down to 21% versus almost a third over the week-end.
"We are doing everything we can to get back to a normal situation. The way things are evolving these last days suggest that may happen soon," he told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.
Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher also pointed at signs of a general improvement in the supply of petrol to service stations in the country but said the situation in the Paris/Ile-de-France area remained difficult.
"We are doing all we can to ensure the situation gets better," she told French radio.
Energy company EDF (EPA:EDF), which the French government is in the process of fully nationalising, has also been affected by strikes at its nuclear reactors.
France's national grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that those prolonged strikes at EDF could have "heavy consequences" for the country's electricity supplies over the coming winter.
Pannier-Runacher said EDF remained in talks with trade unions to try and resolve that dispute.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.