Strike week in oil refineries with the specter of a gasoline shortage. Queues at gas stations are always long. Difficult for professionals to obtain supplies.
We have already experienced this situation in our recent history. On several occasions, we had to ration our gas consumption.
First, there were the great scansions of history which disorganized us. In 1940 and throughout the war, we had to find alternatives to gasoline. There were gas-powered cars, but above all bicycles, handcarts and horse-drawn carriages found a place in the streets. Also in May 1968, with the small revolution, petrol ran out.
But more often it is the social movements in the oil sector that have caused concern. As in 1955 at the Donges refinery then in Dunkirk, Lille and Rouen depots in 1955, for wage increases. The fear of lack causes real shortages the following year. Guy Mollet, then President of the Council, takes the floor to reassure the French. His words are surprisingly topical.
Recent governments have used the same words in 2010 and 2013, faced with the demands of oil workers: solidarity, civic sense.
But often the oil personnel are not in question. Carrier strikes have caused great stress in recent decades. Strikes of truckers in 1996, then again in 1999. We remember the evacuations by the CRS of the heavy goods roadblocks. And finally the return to normal, after a few days.
In fact, we have never managed to limit our consumption or to behave more civic-mindedly, in these times of shortage. But we learned a virtue: patience. And these days, it’s proving very useful.