With “service station stocks full,” the 48-hour strike at refineries on CGT’s call should only have a limited impact on motorists.
The movement against pension reform continues to grow. And as the day of mobilization among professionals on January 31 approaches, some sectors have decided to take action. Such is the case at refineries, where CGT Petroleum is calling a 48-hour strike from Thursday.
If this strike against pension reform is going to have an undeniable effect, it is not necessary (yet) to rush to your gas station to fill up at the gas station.
Because even in the event of a break in deliveries from refineries or “flows drop,” “service station stocks are full, French warehouses are full,” assures BFMTV microphone Francis Bosse.
“A rush to the pump will put pressure on inventories faster and then we will run into difficulties,” the president warns Mobilians Syndicate’s “Fuel Distributors.”
“Don’t panic”
Last week, the catchphrase was the same during the Jan. 19 professional mobilization: “Don’t Panic” blasted into BFMTV Patrick Pouyanné’s mic,
“Inventories are full and service stations are well supplied (…) Some want to make precautionary purchases but these precautionary purchases are dangerous, and can put the system under unnecessary pressure,” explained the head of Total Energies.
And the movement hasn’t already caused shortages: in the morning of January 19, less than 2% of French service stations were running short of petrol or diesel.
On the other hand, if the movement in the refineries continues for several days as in October 2022, a shortage may indeed occur. Eric Cellini, director of CGT at Totalenergies, warned that “equities could pretty much absorb” the first 24-hour strike, but “some highway terminals could close.”