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| Strike hits all French oil refineries as police break up Marseille picket | Strike hits all French oil refineries as police break up Marseille picket |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Strikes have have spread to all eight of France’s oil refineries, the CGT union has said, as police used water cannon and teargas to break up a picket blocking access to the Fos-sur-Mer refinery in Marseille. | Strikes have have spread to all eight of France’s oil refineries, the CGT union has said, as police used water cannon and teargas to break up a picket blocking access to the Fos-sur-Mer refinery in Marseille. |
| The pre-dawn police operation followed warnings from the government that attempts to strangle fuel supplies in a dispute over contested labour law reforms would not be tolerated. | The pre-dawn police operation followed warnings from the government that attempts to strangle fuel supplies in a dispute over contested labour law reforms would not be tolerated. |
| The action marked an escalation in the standoff between François Hollande’s government and the hardline CGT union, which is seeking to turn various protests and stoppages into full-scale rolling strikes at ports, oil refineries and railways. | The action marked an escalation in the standoff between François Hollande’s government and the hardline CGT union, which is seeking to turn various protests and stoppages into full-scale rolling strikes at ports, oil refineries and railways. |
| Emmanuel Lépine of the CGT said about 40 busloads of riot police took part in an operation “of unprecedented violence“. | Emmanuel Lépine of the CGT said about 40 busloads of riot police took part in an operation “of unprecedented violence“. |
| Workers at the Fos refinery, which belongs to US-based Exxon Mobil, are taking part in a broader series of strikes and pickets in the sector. | Workers at the Fos refinery, which belongs to US-based Exxon Mobil, are taking part in a broader series of strikes and pickets in the sector. |
| The CGT union said strikes had spread to all eight of France’s refineries. “Output is going to fall by at least 50%,” Lépine said. | The CGT union said strikes had spread to all eight of France’s refineries. “Output is going to fall by at least 50%,” Lépine said. |
| Beyond the stoppages by refinery workers, pickets by dockers, truckers and other protesters have been blocking deliveries in and out of fuel distribution depots for days, sparking panic buying and shortages at hundreds of petrol stations. | Beyond the stoppages by refinery workers, pickets by dockers, truckers and other protesters have been blocking deliveries in and out of fuel distribution depots for days, sparking panic buying and shortages at hundreds of petrol stations. |
| The government has said there are sufficient supplies to ride out the stoppages, but French oil firm Total said earlier this week that hundreds of its 2,200 petrol stations had either partly or completely run out of fuel. Motorists have been uploading details of petrol stations where they have encountered problems. | |
| The CGT has also called rolling strikes of more than two days a week on the national railways and for an open-ended strike on the Paris subway and suburban commuter train networks from 2 June, a week before the Euro 2016 football tournament kicks off. | The CGT has also called rolling strikes of more than two days a week on the national railways and for an open-ended strike on the Paris subway and suburban commuter train networks from 2 June, a week before the Euro 2016 football tournament kicks off. |