France Orders Striking Oil Workers Back to Work

Facts

• On Wednesday, the French government ordered some striking staff at an Exxon Mobil oil depot to return to work, as tensions continue to escalate between trade unions and authorities seeking to ease pressures on petrol supplies.
• This is the latest development in a weeks-long, nationwide strike for better salaries and a share of the oil firm's profits. The CGT trade union is pursuing a wage increase of around 10% for staff at domestic company TotalEnergies and the US-based ExxonMobil amid France's worsening cost of living crisis.
• Around a third of petrol stations in France are experiencing shortages and there are reports of drivers waiting in line or traveling to other towns to find fuel. Government spokesperson Oliver Véran said: "The effects of the labor dispute have become intolerable for too many French people."
• Under French law, the government is entitled to force workers back to their roles if absolutely necessary, and those who refuse may even face fines or jail time. However, the CGT has noted its intention to challenge the legality of the order - the move might also bolster a march planned by left-wing parties on Sunday against Pres. Emmanuel Macron's government.
• Green Party MP Sandrine Rousseau said on Wednesday, "I hope this is the spark that begins a general strike." There have been calls for fuel companies to face a windfall tax on bumper profits, while consumers face rapidly rising energy prices and increasing inflation.
• The standoff is just one of the multiple crises currently facing Macron's administration. The president is also seeking to make sweeping reforms to pensions before the end of winter, despite the risk that they will prompt further protests.

Sources: Reuters, Guardian, Gazette Ngr, Al Jazeera, and France24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Wall Street Journal. Refinery strikes have choked fuel supplies nationwide and put the safety of the French public at risk as temperatures drop and Europe begins feeling the bite of its sanctions on Russian oil. The French government uses emergency powers sparingly, but in this case, unions forced Macron's hand and left the administration with no option but to force staff back to work for the sake of the country.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by CNN. Unions are right to call for a 10% raise in wages - oil companies have been reaping exorbitant profits from this energy crisis while workers struggle with a skyrocketing cost of living and rampant inflation. By invoking emergency powers, the government is undermining the fundamental democratic right to cease work.

Predictions