France acts to blunt fuel strike

PARIS – French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced a decision to requisition workers operating gasoline depots of Exxonmobil’s French branch Esso and threatened to do the same for those of Total group, amid strikes that have led fuel pumps to run dry in the country.

The drastic measure came as drivers waiting in long lines to fill up their cars and gas stations closing while awaiting deliveries have become increasingly familiar sights in France in recent days.

At a gas station in Vincennes, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Alexandre Leonardi, 31, was not surprised to see the long lines of cars.

“I’ve been here for about an hour. … I expected it to be like this,” he told The Associated Press. “Most of the gas stations I went past were closed.”

Requisitions allow authorities to order some of the workers of the petrol depots hit by strikes to return to work. It was not immediately clear how the order would be applied. A similar measure was imposed in 2010 during strikes at French refineries.

Speaking Tuesday at the National Assembly, Borne said about 30% of France’s gas stations are experiencing temporary shortages with at least one type of fuel. She noted that strong differences between regions, with the Paris area and northern France being the most affected places, were making life difficult for drivers.

She called for dialogue between unions and management as strikers seek pay raises amid soaring inflation.

“A salary disagreement does not justify blocking the country,” she said.