French labour reform protest

schumi

schumi

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The French government is still urging the public not to panic but the fuel crisis appeared to be worsening on Tuesday.

On Monday night the transport minister said that some 2,400 petrol stations out of 12,000 around the country had either run out of fuel or were running very low (take a closer look at exactly which ones are closed here)
That figure was a jump of almost 1,000 from Monday morning, when some 1,500 petrol stations, mainly in the north and west of the country, were empty.
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More at:http://www.thelocal.fr/20160524/fuel-crisis-one-fifth-of-french-petrol-stations-run-low
 
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One fifth of petrol stations? Sounds pretty good to me.

Remember that national supply shortage we had in South Africa a couple years ago? I'll never forget the experience of phoning petrol stations and asking if they had petrol, because I could only pick one to limp my car on empty towards. I lucked out and found one :)
 
Foxhound5366 said:
One fifth of petrol stations? Sounds pretty good to me.

Remember that national supply shortage we had in South Africa a couple years ago? I'll never forget the experience of phoning petrol stations and asking if they had petrol, because I could only pick one to limp my car on empty towards. I lucked out and found one :)
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Actually, the issue is that most are located in the same area, so the whole West of France has almost no petrol and even in Paris the queues go up to 2 hours to get petrol.
 
Imagine how mad this lot are going to be when France gets gatvol of the petroleum worker's union and switches to electric.
 
France on strike: Refineries blockaded by protesters

France is suffering from major fuel shortages, with oil refineries blockaded by striking oil workers who are unhappy with planned changes to France's labour regulations.

Six out of the eight refineries in the country have either stopped operating or have reduced output.

Riot police fired tear gas and water canon to break up a picket line blocking access to Exxon Mobil Corp's refinery outside the southern port city of Marseille, as scores of petrol stations nationwide ran dry of fuel on Tuesday.

"Enough is enough," said Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

The pre-dawn swoop drew a sharp riposte from the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) union, which wants to force President Francois Hollande's government to rethink the labour reforms designed to make it easier for companies to hire and fire employees.

The CGT described the police operation as an act of "unprecedented violence" as it and other unions served notice of a June 3-5 strike by air traffic controllers that will dovetail with walkouts by state rail employees, port workers and staff on the Paris metro and suburban rail networks.

Hollande, on the other hand, says labour reform is crucial to creating new jobs and blames the fuel blockade on a small minority of people.

In parts of France, motorists swamped petrol stations, some using real-time mobile phone applications to learn where they could refill without queuing for hours or being turned away.

"There is no petrol anywhere," one motorist in Paris told Al Jazeera.

"I'm upset because we seem to have been taken hostage by this strike. I understand why they must go on strike and why we must respect it, but for people who work, this is not practical," she said.

"The government say that they have enough petrol stocks to cover this crisis," Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler reported from Paris.

"They say the situation is actually under control. But of course many motorists are feeling a sense of panic - which is why we are seeing a rush to the petrol station."

The panic-buying amid fuel rationing in parts of France will compound the troubles of Hollande and his government as they strive to convince voters that "things are getting better".

Emergency stocks could keep fuel stations open for up to two months if tapped, according to experts. But Valls said pickets aimed at halting distribution would not be tolerated.

Hollande, France's most unpopular leader in recent memory, has said he will only run for re-election if he hauls the jobless rate down.

The International Monetary Fund said this week that France's economy was not recovering quickly enough to cut unemployment and debt significantly, and would not do so without further reforms.

Source: Al Jazeera And Reuters

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/160524181314018.html (autoplaying vid)
 
Ninja'd said:
Switch to electric.

That's the funniest thing I've read today.
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France is the country most likely to be the first IMO.
Nuclear Power + State owned Car companies + a culture of loving technological innovations.

Why the French like nuclear energy
Second, Mandil cites cultural factors. France has a tradition of large, centrally managed technological projects. And, he says, they are popular. "French people like large projects. They like nuclear for the same reasons they like high speed trains and supersonic jets."

Part of their popularity comes from the fact that scientists and engineers have a much higher status in France than in America. Many high ranking civil servants and government officials trained as scientists and engineers (rather than lawyers, as in the United States), and, unlike in the U.S. where federal administrators are often looked down upon, these technocrats form a special elite. Many have graduated from a few elite schools such as the Ecole Polytechnic. According to Mandil, respect and trust in technocrats is widespread. "For a long time, in families, the good thing for a child to become was an engineer or a scientist, not a lawyer. We like our engineers and our scientists and we are confident in them."
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konfab said:
France is the country most likely to be the first IMO.
Nuclear Power + State owned Car companies + a culture of loving technological innovations.

Why the French like nuclear energy
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Jip, they have these electric cars you can rent per half hour, autolib. Very cool, if you have to go somewhere and don't want to take the metro, you hop into one of the electric cars and go. Parking for electric cars all over Paris
 
The government mobilised the strategic reserves yesterday to supply the petrol stations. There's a 115 days of reserves so the strike can go on quite long before they actually paralyse the country.
 
France labour dispute: Wave of strike action nationwide

Industrial action over labour law reforms is gripping France nationwide, with oil refineries, nuclear power stations and transport hubs affected.

Motorways and bridges were blocked and flights delayed while clashes erupted with police in several cities.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls insists the reforms will not be withdrawn but has suggested they could be "modified".

The action, building over three months, comes two weeks before France hosts the Euro 2016 football championships.
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More at:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36385778
 
Hollande says won't let protesters choke economy as police clear fuel picket

French riot police forcibly removed striking workers blocking a large fuel distribution depot on Friday as President Francois Hollande warned anti-reform protesters he would not let them strangle the economy.

The police operation to free up the barricaded depot near the Donges oil refinery in western France followed similar swoops at other depots this week to ease petrol shortages caused by picketers fighting planned labor law reforms.

Concerns have been mounting about potential disruption to the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, which begins on June 10, and on Friday unions said they would seek to disrupt transport on match days in the towns where matches are due to take place.
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More at:http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-politics-protests-idUSKCN0YI11U
 
StellenboschStudent said:
Jip, they have these electric cars you can rent per half hour, autolib. Very cool, if you have to go somewhere and don't want to take the metro, you hop into one of the electric cars and go. Parking for electric cars all over Paris
Click to expand...

Sounds like Locomute.
 
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