that the French government has taken the unusual step of requisitioning essential staff in the face of weeks-long strikes at refineries owned by ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, which have disrupted supply to thousands of gas stations.
One of France’s largest unions, CGT, has refused to accept the terms of a wage deal agreed upon between TotalEnergies and two other unions, CFE-CGC and CFDT. The agreement includes a 7% salary increase for 2023 and a bonus for all employees equivalent to one month’s pay. CGT has demanded a 10% pay raise.
In an interview with France Inter, a radio station, a representative of CGT, Philippe Martinez, claimed that “several thousand” workers were still striking, contradicting government ministers who have referred to striking workers as both “a handful of workers” and “several hundred people” in interviews.