As soon as the security forces in camouflage suits have left, the bottles of mango juice reappear. Empty bottles of course, which are hastily filled here with what is left at the LeClerc gas station, located on the Périphérique, the ring road of Paris. Full of light yellow fuel they disappear in the trunks again of the dozens of scooters crowding around the pump – Paris can also order takeaway tonight.
All of France is facing fuel shortages after two weeks of strikes at TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil refineries and storage sites. Nationally, about 30 percent of the gas stations now have a shortage or even a complete lack of fuel, in Paris that is even almost half. Two thousand gas stations were completely sold out on Monday morning, according to French media. For stock points that are still open, there have been traffic jams of up to several hours since last Saturday.
For someone who has waited nearly four hours to fill his tank, Bismullah Khan is remarkably smiley. To prevent leaks, he stretches a piece of plastic wrap over his bottle before closing the cap. The Afghan meal deliverer for Uber can go two days ahead, but above all: he can assist a friend. “I’m very happy if I can help someone,” Khan says, waiting for the colleague friend for whom he advances a credit card payment.
At the gas station, where payment can only be made by credit card, a lively trade started on Monday around the fuel. Women drag jerry cans in trolleys or bags, scooter riders approach motorists and ask if they can withdraw cash for them in exchange for cash, meal deliverers fill their cooler bags with plastic bottles of fuel that they redistribute further down the road among colleagues – those who don’t have a residence permit usually don’t either. credit card.
Get through the week peacefully
Stocking up on extra stock is actually prohibited here. But after the departure of the security forces, five armed men strong, hardly anyone cares anymore. Every now and then an angry motorist jumps out of his car: everyone should stand in line, as most have been doing for several hours while braver scooter riders and pedestrians navigate around them. Another gets out of the car to push it the last few meters to the pump.
The strikers of the CGT union are demanding a 10 percent pay rise at TotalEnergies, due to inflation and the significant profits the company has made thanks to high energy prices. In addition, the compensation must also apply retroactively to 2022. At the end of September, TotalEnergies announced that it would distribute an exceptional dividend of 2.62 billion euros to its shareholders.
At the pump in Paris people shrug their shoulders about the salary requirements. No room for understanding or misunderstanding, the primary concern here is getting through the week peacefully. “That’s a lot in Paris, where we’re all huddled together,” says Billy (who doesn’t want to share a last name). “It’s good that the law enforcement officers are coming to see us. Last weekend it was fighting at the pump here. There were men who came to stock 500 liters, they would have weapons with them.’ French media already reported a stabbing during an argument about pushing ahead, after which a driver ended up in hospital.
On Sunday evening, the management of the French multinational promised to bring forward the planned salary negotiations. They were scheduled for mid-November, two months earlier than usual, but could start as early as this month, provided the strike was halted. For now, however, the end is not in sight. Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s admonitions, who said on Monday that blockades are “not a way of negotiating,” the CGT leadership announced on Monday afternoon that it would extend the strike at TotalEnergies for at least one more day, in the absence of guarantees that the salary demand will be met. . In addition, the promotions are extended to the petrol stations themselves.
Mass hoarding
In the meantime, the French government is drawing on strategic reserves to resupply the empty tanks. The protests have reduced total fuel production in France by 60 percent. But the discount that French customers receive at the pump, this and last month of up to 30 euro cents per liter, has also contributed to the shortages, said government spokesman Olivier Véran. ‘Some stations are victims of their success.’ Véran refused to speak of a shortage last week, he was afraid that the French would start hoarding en masse.
Fifteen minutes by bike, the traffic jams of the weekend have already been solved, the TotalEnergies station has been cordoned off with red and white ribbon and all hoses have been provided with an ‘out of service’ flyer. Taxi driver Yann Njoh is obliged to be free today. He starts the engine: ‘I’ve been looking for a refueling option for three days now. Look, I now have a spare four kilometers left. I live two miles from here. There’s nothing left to do but go home and wait for a nearby gas station to be restocked.’
Njoh keeps a constant eye on developments via telephone calls with colleagues and apps that monitor stocks live based on government data and updates from motorists. But where half an hour ago the supply was still green, the stock has now disappeared. Today he can’t do much more than inflate the tires. Or anyway, Njoh decides a little later: before he returns home, he quickly dives into the adjacent shop to buy a new jerry can.