While the government of Elisabeth Borne has decided to dispense with the vote of the National Assembly to adopt the pension reform, the unions are hardening their movement in the energy sector.
The CGT implemented the shutdown of the Normandy refinery of TotalEnergies during the weekend. With shipments blocked and stocks full, several production units had to be shut down. “Our priority is to maintain safety, which leads us to put certain units in preferential recirculation or to stop some if necessary to guarantee inventory management”, explained the management of the group this Sunday. Some units continued to produce, but the CGT has planned stoppage operations until Monday evening.
And she does not intend to stop there. The threats also concern other refineries on French territory. The employees of ExxonMobil, in Port-Jérôme, near Le Havre, started an indefinite strike this Saturday. Shipments there are blocked and oil no longer comes in due to another strike at the oil depot in Le Havre. The refinery could therefore be shut down on Monday or Tuesday.
blockages in the gas
At TotalEnergies, management announced 34% of strikers this Sunday morning, on the operators of the first quarter, and 37% Saturday morning. The figure is down slightly, in particular compared to the mobilization of last week, which exceeded 50%.
The movement should not have an impact, for the moment, on the availability of fuel at service stations, unless consumers flock to the pumps. Tankers and distributors had prepared, stocks were substantial. The Minister of Industry Roland Lescure, however, recalled this weekend that the government could decide on requisitions, as had been the case in the fall, during previous strikes.
In the production of electricity, the CGT claims “a record of 17 to 20,000 MW” of production prevented by strikes in the various hydraulic, gas or nuclear power stations.
“This threshold has been held for nine days and it is historic”, argues Fabrice Coudour, federal secretary of the CGT-FNME, the National Federation of Mines and Energy, who explains that the union has acted on the continuation of the mobilization. . “General assemblies took place last night, extending certain strikes until Tuesday or Wednesday. We are going to strengthen the pickets, especially in the gas sector, ”explains the latter.
This Friday morning at EDF, the drop in production linked to the strikers was 8,170 MW, against 8,760 MW this Thursday. Targeted power cuts have also taken place in recent days, in particular at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, in Montpellier and in the Ardennes.
The blockages also concern three of the four French LNG terminals responsible for receiving deliveries of liquefied natural gas, those operated by Elengy, a subsidiary of Engie. That of Dunkirk has resumed its activity.
The gas storage centers of Storengy, another subsidiary of Engie, strategic to spend next winter, are also affected. “This has no impact on deliveries, we continue to supply our customers”, assures Storengy. Finally, strikes also paralyze the activity of waste incinerators.