Fuel to French airports cut, oil terminals stay shut

The oil supply for two of Paris’s airports was cut on Friday as workers at refineries continued a strike against pension reforms. Workers at oil terminals, meanwhile, continued a strike against port reform plans for the 19th consecutive day.

Reuters

At the oil terminals in the south, 62 ships were stranded Friday. In Fos-sur-Mer, 39 ships were waiting to be unloaded on Friday, of which 27 were oil tankers. In Marseille, 23 ships are anchored, of which 19 are tankers. Several others are stranded in Corsica.

The strike at the oil terminals was launched on 27 September against plans to privatise the Fos-sur-Mer and Lavera terminals.

The French government said Thursday there is enough supply for fuel pumps and called on motorists to stay calm as strikes paralysed most of the country's oil refining industry.

Workers at Total’s Grandpuits refinery, which supplies the Trapil pipeline, have been on strike against pension reforms for several days. Trapil pipeline supplies the airports at Orly, Roissy, Coignières, Orléans and Tours.

"Orly airport has 17 days of supplies and Roissy has at least enough for until the end of the weekend,” a Trapil spokesman told AFP.