French police forced the largest French refineries to hand over fuel shipments withheld and resume refining work, after weeks of continuous strikes in protest against a regulation to raise the retirement age in the country.
And French Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Ronachet announced the resumption of fuel shipments from the Gonverville refinery in the Normandy region in the early hours of Friday morning (March 24, 2023), according to Reuters.
The French police forces intervened to disperse the workers of the largest French refineries, “Gonverville”, who have been participating in the series of strikes for two months. Objecting to raising the retirement age along with most workers in the government sector and the private sector in the country.
Refineries refuse to release
The French refineries’ strike affected the supply disruption of gas stations in the country, with the strikers refusing to load any shipments outside the facilities as part of pressure on the government to back down from raising the retirement age.
On January 19, 2023, the French government approved a new regulation to gradually raise the retirement age in the country from 62 to 64 years until 2030.
In passing these regulations, the government used a controversial article in the constitution that allows the government to approve regulations without a vote by Parliament. This led to mass protests and opposition from workers and employees, in addition to opposition political parties in the French parliament.
The Federation of Trade Unions in the country called for continuous protests and strikes in all sectors of the state. Including refineries, amid the insistence of the government of President Emmanuel Macron to implement the regulation as a late reform in the French pension system.
Previous French governments tried to amend the pension system to reduce its costs, but they eventually backed down after protests by the trade unions, but it seems that Macron’s government is determined to enforce it after 8 consecutive strikes went unanswered.
457 people were arrested
The Macron government decided to intervene with the police to break up the sit-ins of the French refineries participating in the successive strikes. What affected the country’s fuel supply.
And the French police announced the arrest of 457 people on charges of involvement in riots during demonstrations and protests organized by trade unions in the country.
It also announced that 441 policemen were injured while performing their duties in resisting riots and vandalism, according to French Interior Minister Gerald Dramanan.
The ministry was forced to postpone the first visit of Britain’s King Charles III and his wife to France, which was scheduled for March 28, 2023, with the escalation of protests and their association with escalating riots and violence.
The Secretary-General of the Federation of Trade Unions in France, Alexis Antonioli, criticized the police intervention to break up the strike of Gonverville refinery workers and forcibly open the refinery, according to what was monitored by the specialized energy platform.
Nuclear reactors are damaged
The French refinery strike caused fuel shortages in some stations nationwide, and damage also extended to liquefied natural gas plants and nuclear power plants whose maintenance was affected by France’s strikes.
And some companies operating nuclear reactors were forced to stop them from working temporarily due to severe stress and maintenance interruptions for 11 consecutive days, according to Reuters.
The entire Ile-de-France region depends on the fuel supply from Total Energy’s Gonverville refinery; What threatens the movement of daily life in the richest region in France and Europe, according to the specialized energy platform.
And the French Total Energy announced that 31% of the workers in its refineries and major oil depots went on strike on the morning of Friday, March 24, 2023.
Civil Aviation warns
France’s strikes led to fuel shortages at 15% of petrol stations, and closed 10 of the 200 depots still operating normally, according to French Energy Minister Agnès Bagnier-Ronachet.
The Civil Aviation Authority issued a warning on March 17, 2023, that gasoline supplies at Paris airports had reached critical levels.
The authority advised airlines to fuel their planes as much as possible before heading to the French capital, according to what was monitored by the specialized energy platform.
The authorities operating the French port of Foss Lavera are complaining about the accumulation of huge quantities of oil waiting to be unloaded and supplied.
The volume of congestion in the French port overlooking the Mediterranean was approximately 4.3 million as of March 20, 2023, of which 2.3 million barrels had come from Libya since February 2023, while other tankers loaded with quantities of Italian, American and Nigerian oil stood in waiting lines, hoping to A quick breakthrough for the French refineries strike.
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