French pension reform strikes continue to disrupt fuel supplies, power output
release:
Workers on strike to protest proposed changes to France’s pension system continued on Thursday to block fuel supplies and cut power production at several sites.
power supply Some of the country’s nuclear, thermal and hydro plants lost 8.2 gigawatts (GW), or 13 percent of total output, due to the strike, EDF data showed.
France is currently not importing electricity, according to grid operator RTE, suggesting domestic supply is meeting demand.
TotalEnergies said its French refineries were again without fuel deliveries due to the strike.
There were also no deliveries from ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso’s Fos-sur-Mer refinery in southern France, union representatives told Reuters, although operations at the northwestern port of Jerome had returned to normal.
About 7% of French gas stations were missing at least one product as of Wednesday, but “there are no supply problems at gas stations and the situation is improving,” said Olivier Gantois, president of UFIP, the French oil, energy and transport industry union.
Pamela Munger, senior market analyst at Energy, said that while European diesel product contract prices have risen slightly in recent days, “in general, the market doesn’t appear to be responding to strikes the way it did in October 2022.” analyst firm Vortexa, referring to previous waves of industrial action.
Opinion polls show a majority of voters oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the state pension age by two years to 64, but the government says policy changes are crucial to ensuring the system does not go bankrupt.
(Reuters)
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