FRANCE: Major French refinery still blocked despite government pledges to free up fuel supplies

Record ID: 572423

  • Title: FRANCE: Major French refinery still blocked despite government pledges to free up fuel supplies
  • Date: 22nd October 2010
  • Summary: GRANDPUITS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2010) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) PROTESTERS WITH FLARE ON GROUND VARIOUS PROTESTER WITH FLARE GRAFFITI: ON STRIKE UNION MEETING IN FRONT OF REFINERY VARIOUS STRIKERS LISTENING TO SPEAKER FLAGS SPEAKER SAYING: THIS IS A CLASS STRUGGLE, CHEERING STRIKERS CHANTING (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNION OFFICIAL CHARLES FOULARD, SAYING: "Our demands are still the same, that Mr Nicolas Sarkozy suspends, as was again repeated by our secretary general, Bernard Thibault, who is calling, like all the unions, for this law to be dropped and that we open a national negotiation on the future of our pensions." PICKET AT FRONT GATE, FIRE IN FRONT.
  • Embargoed: 6th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,Social Services / Welfare
  • Reuters ID: LVA6EIJWGIIA0BS7MZPVI9K9SUCZ
  • Story Text: The major French oil refinery which is critical for serving Paris and its airports remains blocked by strikers despite government pledges to crack down on the fuel blockades that have starved the country of petrol.
    There was no sign of the police crackdown promised by President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Grandpuits refinery, around 70 kilometres from Paris, on Thursday (October 21).
    Sarkozy has vowed to rid the country's fuel depots and refineries of the blocades that have starved petrol stations -- some reports say more than 5,000 of them -- of fuel.
    Waving flares and listening to union officials talk of class war, strikers cheered their support for the protest and vowed they would make the government climb down.
    "Our demands are still the same, that Mr Nicolas Sarkozy suspends, as was again repeated by our secretary general, Bernard Thibault, who is calling, like all the unions, for this law to be dropped and that we open a national negotiation on the future of our pensions, " said Charles Foulard, a senior offficial with CGT trades union.
    The government says it has no choice but to reform one of Europe's most generous pension systems and to make people work longer. The unions say the reforms are unfair and that the rich should pay more tax to keep pensions funded.
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