The French government made a new call for calm on Saturday in the face of fuel shortages at a growing number of gas stations, especially in the north of the country.
Almost one in five gas stations has run out of fuel, according to the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who insists that the rest, more than 80%, are “operating normally”.
“We have released strategic reserves. We call for calm and responsibility,” Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion Christophe Béchu told public broadcaster FranceInfo.
The operators also resorted to emergency imports and the authorities exceptionally authorized the circulation of tank trucks on Sunday – the day they are normally prohibited from working – to supply the service stations.
“The situation should improve,” Christophe Béchu was quoted as saying by the Efe news agency.
The shortage is due to the strike that affects three refineries of the oil groups Total and Esso, whose workers demand salary increases to compensate for the rise in the cost of living and more hiring.
The strike at the Esso de Fos refinery (near Marseille) began 17 days ago, while last Tuesday the two Total facilities were paralyzed.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, had already called on Friday for the “calm” of the French.
“Faced with the shortage, there were panic movements and many of our compatriots ran to the gas stations to fill the tank as a precaution. However, that attitude accelerates the effect of panic,” Macron warned.
In some areas, including the Paris region, television images show long queues and frustrated drivers waiting, sometimes for several hours, because when it’s their turn they run out of fuel.
The situation is especially serious in the Hautes-de-France region (north), where almost half of the service stations suffer some kind of difficulty.
In several departments, the sale of fuel in drums and containers was prohibited, giving priority to vehicles such as ambulances, firefighters, police and school buses.
Source: TSF
