By Oyintari Ben
Following weeks of strikes that caused shortages and a spike in social unrest, the French Government declared it would order employees at an ExxonMobil fuel station back to their duties to safeguard the gasoline supply.
The energy ministry announced on Wednesday that it would “start today” requisitioning personnel for the Gravenchon-Port Jerome depot in Normandy, which is operated by oil tycoon ExxonMobil’s Esso France division.
In an emergency, the state has the authority to seize refineries and order employees back to work; those who object risk penalties or jail time.
Hardline General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union members has continued to strike at the Gravenchon-Port Jerome plant in northern France despite a salary agreement between management and other unions.
The CGT declared that after receiving the demand notifications, it would contest them in court.
The developments followed the paralysis of several refineries controlled by ExxonMobil and partner oil major TotalEnergies due to widespread industrial action demanding significant pay increases for workers, which led to a supply shortage worsened by panic buying.
Following days of long queues forming in front of gas stations, government ministers, who had earlier called for a negotiated resolution to the problem, have now threatened immediate intervention to restore supply.
The FNME spokeswoman, Viginie Neumayer, said that the union had expressed support for the employees participating in industrial action at the refineries controlled by ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies.
The threat of requisition, which is primarily an indication of government fever, has never been proven to be helpful in ending this conflict, according to Neumayer.
She noted that the power supply to operational reactors would not be affected by the strikes at the EDF plants.
