
French PM calls on oil refinery workers to resume work – video
The French prime minister was interviewed on the fuel shortages caused by the strike that has paralysed the country for weeks. Elisabeth Borne announced that the fuel discount would be maintained until mid-November and called on striking workers to take up their work as they were punishing an entire country.
There is no improvement in the fuel supply situation at French petrol stations. Although most of the unions on strike have agreed with the oil company on salary demands, the largest union, the CGT, has not yet reached an agreement with TotalEnergies and continues to strike in five refineries. PM Elisabeth Borne gave an interview to TF1 on the situation, admitting that it had further deteriorated over the weekend.
According to the premier, while 27.3 per cent of petrol stations had a supply problem on Friday, this figure rose to 30.1 per cent over the weekend, so the situation has not improved but worsened. The situation is most critical in the Centre-Val de Loire region, south of Paris, where the number of petrol stations with supply problems rose from 36.4 to 42.8 per cent over the weekend, and in the Ile-de-France region, around the capital, where the same figure rose from 39.9 to 41.6 per cent.
In Ms Borne’s opinion, these figures are too high, therefore, she called on the workers who are still on strike to respect the majority agreement and take up their work as it is not normal for a minority to continue to paralyse the whole country.
Quand une négociation a eu lieu et qu’un accord majoritaire a été trouvé, je le dis aux salariés qui poursuivent la grève, il n’est pas normal qu’une minorité bloque le pays et mette les Français en difficulté. pic.twitter.com/RCcMhnzquL
— Élisabeth BORNE (@Elisabeth_Borne) October 16, 2022
The prime minister also announced that if the situation does not improve in the next few days, the government will use its lawful right to compel further employees to take up work, in order to ensure the minimal operation of the refineries. She added, however, that according to the government, the right way would be to end the strike with a wage agreement. Companies also have to enter into negotiations with their employees, the prime minister opined, and asked the companies to raise salaries if they can to counter inflation.
The French government is applying all its power to ease the burdens on the population due to the fuel prices and petrol shortage, so it has extended the term of the measure granting a discount of 30 eurocents per litre to motorists. The measure, which would have expired at the end of October, will now last until mid-November. The largest French oil company, TotalEnergies, is also extending until mid-November its discount of 20 cents per litre, so fuel will cost 50 cents less in France until then.
Les Francais sont pénalisés par les perturbations dans l’approvisionnement des stations services.
En conséquence, le Gouvernement prolonge la remise de 30 centimes/L á la pompe jusqu’á mi-novembre.@TotalEnergies prolonge également sa remise de 20 centimes/L pour la même durée. pic.twitter.com/u7EdYWGliB
— Élisabeth BORNE (@Elisabeth_Borne) October 16, 2022
Marine Le Pen, one of the most popular French opposition politicians, also responded to the prime minister’s statement. She said that the French government was lying, as government spokesman Olivier Veran had said a few days before that the situation would improve, but Prime Minister Borne admitted in the interview that the shortage of petrol had worsened nationwide. The right-wing politician concluded her post by asking what the members of the French government are for.
Il y a quatre jours, @olivierveran, le porte-mensonge du gouvernement promettait que la situation allait s’améliorer dans les stations-service. Ce soir, @Elisabeth_Borne annonce que la situation s’est encore dégradée. Une nouvelle fois, á quoi servent-ils ?
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) October 16, 2022