After persistent bottlenecks at France’s gas stations, an agreement is becoming apparent in the refinery strike. One of the striking unions negotiated a wage increase of seven percent and a bonus payment with TotalEnergies on Friday night, the French television station franceinfo reported.
A second union is also showing interest in the compromise. However, the CGT union described the proposals as insufficient and announced new strikes, as reported by the AFP news agency.
After around two weeks of strikes, fuel is scarce at around a third of French petrol stations. Motorists are queuing or driving through cities in search of fuel. Five refineries are currently closed. Because of the bottlenecks, fuel can no longer be sold in canisters in departments on the border with Germany. Many motorists from Germany refuel in the border area because of the comparatively low fuel prices in France.
