Whereas the strike at TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil
continues and fuel shortages affect two-thirds of the country’s service stations, the Head of State has promised a back to normal “in the course of the coming week” Wednesday evening on France 2.
The Head of State again called “to responsibility“the management of TotalEnergies and the CGT, hoping that the union”allow the country to function”. The two sides met for the first time since the start of the movement on Wednesday. Until now, TotalEnergies required as a prerequisite the lifting of blockages to see the second union of the group.
Emmanuel Macron insisted that it was “to social dialogue” between management and unions to resolve disputes. “Social dialogue must live”, he repeated. But I say it very clearly: if the social dialogue does not succeed in the next few hours, we will requisition”, he warned.
Four ExxonMobil employees have already been requisitioned to allow the operation of the Norman fuel depot in Port-Jérôme (Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon), two for Wednesday and two for Thursday morning. But Philippe Martinez, the leader of the CGT, denounced a “scandalous decision” and announced the filing of a summary Thursday, to oppose it.
Emmanuel Macron recalled that this crisis had no “nothing to do with the war” in Ukraine, but to social conflicts “in two companies, Exxon and Total, which have made significant profits because the context is good for these companies, which have distributed a lot to their shareholders and which have social negotiations in progress”, he explained. “I think there are sectors and certain players who consider that we can go ‘into the hard’ right away, to speak colloquially”he regretted, also considering that he was “too easy” of “always return the ball” towards the government.