French papers divided over who’s to blame for crippling fuel strike

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Issued on: 13/10/2022 – 14:07

As the wage disputein the petrol refinery and distribution sector enters its 24th day, the French daily newspapers are sharply divided on the question of who is to blame for the chaos on the nation’s streets, as desperate motorists scramble for a few drops of juice.

Left-leaning Libration accuses President Macron of trade union bashing, adding that the French leader refuses any comment on the huge profits being made by the energy companies and their share-holders.

Right-wing Le Figaro is looking the other way, saying that thegovernment is running scared, having failed to see this disaster onthe horizon.

Centrist Le Monde strives for impartiality, reporting the latest offer from the petrol companies, 6 percent for all petrol workers, next year. The strikers want at least 7.5 percent, backdated 12 months.

Le Monde also notes the fear andanger of workers in Normandy who risk being forced to break the strike to refuel the local fleet of police vehicles.

Le Monde says the unions have told members who are officially ordered to return to their posts that they should do so, but union lawyers are preparing to contest the legality of the government decree forcing key personnel to return to work.

‘No shortage of petrol’

“At the start of the Covid crisis,” chortles the Le Figaro editorial, ‘there was no shortage of masks. Now, the same governmentis assuring motorists that there is no shortage of petrol.”

The Le Figaro writer really gets into his stride on the strikers.

“Strikers? They don’t deserve the term,” thunders the aristocratically named Vincent Trmolet de Villiers. “They are serial blockers, They claim to speak on behalf of the people, but they make life hell for the rest of us.

“They demand their legal rights at the same time as they interfere with our fundamental right to travel freely.

“They call for equality but are prepared to put the stability of an entire society at risk so they can protect their privileges.

“They act as if they were the victims of a massive injustice when, in fact, they’re just a bunch of spolied brats.”

Vincent Trmolet de Villiers may need to buy a bike.

Macron has other concerns

Lib says that Emmanuel Macron is attempting to distance himself from the strike and the resulting fuel crisis.

Last night on national TV, the French leader insisted that he has more important fish to fry. With a war in Ukraine, he’s not going to waste energy on a trade dispute involving two private companies.

But that did not stop the president from having a go at the CGT trade union, saying “they had to show responsibility and end their attempt to paralyze the entire country.

“They must play by the rulesin a sector where a global agreement has already been signed.”

The president went on to promise a return to normal within a week, saying that the government was ready to use the law to force workers back to their jobs.

Not a word, laments Lib, about putting pressure on the oil company bosses to share their extraordinary profits with the workers who make that windfall possible.

Ongoing fight against false promises

Catholic daily La Croix says the unions are calling for an extension of the dispute.

Business paper Les Echos sticks grimly to the facts of company offers and union determination to refuse.

And communist L’Humanit wins the headline prize for “Government and management on a full tank of pressure”.

The communist daily says the heroic workers are determined to fight onin the face of the false promises of perfidious management.

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