France’s petrol attendants protest for better pay amid high fuel prices

TotalEnergies service station attendants in France went on strike on Friday to protest against rising fuel costs, demanding the oil giant, which owns a quarter of the country’s service stations, raise salaries.

The company said last month it would cap prices at pumps in mainland France to help customers after the Iran war pushed oil prices to their highest levels in years.

“Total’s employees are receiving no support to cope with this surge in fuel prices, and this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency,” Sophie Binet, secretary-general of the CGT trade union, told France 2 television on Friday.

Binet also reiterated a call for the government to increase minimum wages.

TotalEnergies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, the union, which represents workers in almost 200 TotalEnergies service stations across France, asked for relief from petrol costs for its workers and an increase in their salaries. It did not state the level of the requested salary increase.

The strike coincides with a heavy travel period in France with many families on the road as schools close for spring holidays in parts of the country, including the region around Paris.

Monthly minimum wages in France are set at about €1,800 (R34,800) gross and €1,450 (R24,000) net.

“With an average wage of about €1,600, we can’t even afford to come to work any more,” the workers’ statement said.

The French government said on Tuesday it is considering a cap on fuel distributors’ margins, meeting resistance from the distribution industry.

“We are striking to be able to fill up and go to work,” workers at the Southern Poitou-Charentes service station in western France wrote on a sign the CGT posted on its Facebook account.

“We want to work but not at a loss,” another sign said.

Reuters