"The situation will normalize within the next week. This is a social conflict between the management and employees of the two enterprises. And I am calling on both sides to be responsible. The agreement with Esso-ExxonMobil has been signed. Prime Minister [Elisabeth Borne] has said that the strike will be stopped, and I support this because there are people who are always ready to go even further. This situation is unacceptable," Macron told the France 2 broadcaster.
Macron rejected accusations that the government should have prevented the worsening of the situation.
"We always think that everything depends on a president and a government. Everyone has to be in their place and take responsibility. There is a company, its manager and shareholders, and there are employees. No one should interfere in this social dialogue. And I am in favor of dialogue but not blocking the government," the president said.
The strike by energy sector employees has been ongoing in France since September 21, when ExxonMobil employees went on strike. They were joined on September 27 by workers of French energy company TotalEnergies. Last Tuesday, trade unions announced a three-day protest demanding a 10% pay increase as well as the indexation of 2022 wages to match the current record-breaking inflation. An indefinite extension of the strike was later announced by the unions.
The strike, in particular, affected France's largest refinery near the city of Le Havre in Normandy, as well as refineries in the communes of Feizin and Donges, the La Mede bio-processing plant in the commune of Chateauneuf-les-Martigues and the Grand-Puy fuel storage.
On Sunday, the French energy ministry reported that almost 30% of the country's gas stations were experiencing shortages of at least one type of fuel.
On Monday, long queues lined up at gas stations on a major highway near Paris due to the strikes, a Ria Novosti correspondent reported. Some gas stations did not have diesel fuel. Drivers complained that they had to wait in line for hours, blaming the authorities of France and the US for the energy crisis. The strike led to a shortage of fuel at every third gas station in the country.