France

SIGNS of a breakthrough emerged yesterday in a strike that has shuttered refineries around France, left gas stations short of fuel and put the government and the country’s biggest company in the spotlight.

French union officials said oil company Total SA appears ready to maintain refining activities for the next five years at a plant in Dunkirk, nothern France, where the fear of job losses had initially triggered the strike. Total could not confirm the statement as talks were still ongoing.

At the same time, workers at facilities run by ExxonMobil Corp abandoned a strike at a depot on the English Channel and dropped plans for a strike, after the government announced it would host a round table discussion yesterday evening on the future of refining in France.

The Esso workers blocked the depot before dawn yesterday to support their Total colleagues, who have been striking since last week over plans to close the plant in Dunkirk because of plunging demand.

Together, Total and Esso refineries account for about 70 per cent of France’s refining capacity.

The first signs of shortages were beginning to appear. Yesterday, a Carrefour service station in Gonfreville, home to France’s largest oil refinery, was out of diesel fuel.

Total said that 249 gas stations nationwide had run out of at least one kind of gasoline.

Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo insisted that “at this point, there is no risk” of widespread shortage. Speaking on Europe-1 radio, he said France has about 10 days worth of reserves, and called for calm.

A prolonged strike and serious gas shortages could be bruising for French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government as it faces regional elections in less than three weeks. The refinery blockages come amid other acts of unrest among French workers, including an air traffic controllers’ strike cancelling hundreds of flights yesterday.

Managers at Total, France’s largest company by market capitalisation, met yesterday with union officials at the company’s headquarters near Paris.

Charles Foulard, of the CGT union, said during a break that “it appears the management of Total is ready to commit to presenting a five-year investment plan with a commitment that there will be no rupture” in refining capacity.

However, Foulard said Total workers would not call off their strike yet, pending the round table on the future of refining. He said workers also want to be paid for their days on strike.

Sarkozy summoned Total CEO Christophe de Margerie for talks on the refinery strike yesterday. Total agreed to keep all jobs as it restructures the Dunkirk plant, government spokesman Luc Chatel said after the meeting.

Workers at all six of Total SA’s French refineries and at six of its 31 fuel depots have been on strike in part because of the broader economic downturn but also because more consumers are switching to more fuel-efficient cars.