Protesters Block Fuel Supplies in France

Strikers have blocked fuel supplies at eight out of 12 refineries in France on Wednesday. According to a member of the unions, they did this to force the government to stop the planned pension reforms.

The Grandpuits refinery is about 43 miles from Paris. Here, strikers said they had voted on merely slowing production and stopping deliveries. 

But management at the installation ruled that the refinery should be totally closed down.

[Frank Manchon, Shop Steward with CGT Trades Union]:

"The refinery is no longer producing and is being shut down. That means that by Thursday night, the refinery will be completely halted. And that will place a big question mark over how easy it'll be to start it up again."

Frank Manchon is a shop steward with the CGT union, one of France’s four big labour federations that are fighting the pension reforms.

He warned that it could take up to two weeks to start up the refinery again once it had been fully closed down.

Behind him, the refinery entrance had been surrounded by union flags and banners. These are criticising the government’s plan to lift the retirement age by two years to 62.

Manchon said that unions were willing to bring the country to a halt through forcing fuel shortages.

[Frank Manchon, Shop Steward with CGT Trades Union]:

"Neither unions nor employees want to shut the country down - we will be the first to suffer the consequences. But that is what is going to happen because of the various management and especially of the government, which is in a state of unbelievable autism."

Oil sector lobby UFIP said that shortages could start affecting petrol stations on the mainland in just over a week.