The hydrocarbons giant TotalEnergies was forced to start the closure of the Normandy refinery near Le Havre, the largest in France, this Wednesday, as a result of a strike for purchasing power at the request of the CGT, as we learned from sources. concordant. This closure “for security reasons” “is not effective yet because it takes several days,” TotalEnergies said.
According to the oil group, it does not endanger the supply of service stations in the short term, although it represents 22% of the refining capacity in France, according to data from Ufip (oil groups). The group said it had imported and had stocks “that could last between 20 days and a month,” in addition to France’s strategic stocks. France typically imports around 50% of its diesel needs, but exports gasoline.
“The discontent is so strong in Normandy that the strikers demanded this morning the closure procedures of France’s largest refinery,” Thierry Defresne, CGT secretary of the European works council TotalEnergies SE, told AFP. “We are in the long term: a refinery, to stop it takes five days, to restart it takes almost the same, so we started at least more than ten days without refining and petrochemical production, we are going to go much further on September 29 “said Thierry Defresne.
Salary increase
This strike of the French refineries of TotalEnergies, which began on Tuesday, must be extended until at least Thursday, a day of national action in all economic sectors, at the request of the CGT and Solidaires. In the event of a real stoppage of the Normandy refinery, there would only be two refineries in operation out of the six that remain in France, the others also affected by strikes, or closed for works or maintenance, according to the CGT.
The TotalEnergies refinery in Donges (Loire-Atlantique) and the PetroIneos refinery in Lavera (Bouches-du-Rhône) would therefore be the only ones to operate, according to the CGT. On Tuesday, the strikers agreed to take their jobs on the condition that no product be delivered. The management was forced to accept the strikers’ request to stop, so that they could come and relieve the inside teams “and continue to operate the machines and guarantee safety and protection of the environment”, Thierry Defresne specified.
The CGT asks for a 10% salary increase by 2022, the “unfreezing of hiring” in France and “a massive investment plan” in France, claims already at the origin of movements on June 24 and July 28.
Source: BFM TV
