France oil strikes: Riots in Paris and Bordeaux as masked protesters hurl rocks at police

Riot police officers clash with protestors during a demonstration held as part of nationwide labour actions in Paris, France
Riot police officers clash with protestors during a demonstration held as part of nationwide labour actions in Paris, France Credit: Francois Mori/AP Photo
  • Strikes abroad set to cause chaos for Britishholidaymakers  
  • Half of France's 10,000 petrol stations either partially or completely run out of fuel
  • Masked protesters hurled rocks at riot police

Up to 40 per cent of France’s petrol pumps have run dry as unions ratchet up pressure on the government to scrap a controversial labour law with mass demonstrations kicked off around the country on Thursday.  

Estimates on Thursday suggested some 4,655 out of the 12,000 petrol stations in the country were without fuel or running low.  

Tear gas fills the air during a demonstration in protest of the government's proposed labour law reforms in Paris
Tear gas fills the air during a demonstration in protest of the government's proposed labour law reforms in Paris Credit: Charles Platiau/REUTERS

In the south west city of Bordeaux, about 100 people targeted a police station, throwing objects at it and damaging a police car.

And in Paris workers from France's hardline CGT union blocked fuel supplies and parts of the country's public transport network, and cut output from all but three of its 19 nuclear power plants on Thursday in a showdown with the ruling Socialists that says it has no intention of withdrawing the contested reform.

                                                                                                    

Summary of today's events

  • Protesters clashed with police as striking workers blockaded refineries and disrupted nuclear power stations on Thursday as an escalating wave of industrial action against labour reforms rocked France.
  • According to AFP, police fired tear gas a group of 100 protesters who broke away from a march through the capital. As tensions grew over labour reforms, unionists blocked roads and bridges while train drivers and air traffic controllers staged walkouts.
  • Some 300,000 protesters took to the streets of France to oppose a controversial labour law, according to the CGT union, while the police put the number at 153,000.
  • The interior ministry and the Paris police department said 77 demonstrators were arrested, 36 of them in the capital, while 15 police officers were injured in clashes. Although some blockades on fuel depots and refineries in the north of the country were called off, many motorists were still stuck in long queues at petrol stations around France, AFP reported.
  • Protesters attacked a police station and smashed bank windows as anti-labour reform rallies turned violent.  Workers from France's hardline CGT union blocked fuel supplies and parts of the country's public transport network, and cut output from all but three of its 19 nuclear power plants on Thursday in a showdown with the ruling Socialists that says it has no intention of withdrawing the contested reform.
  • Meanwhile, another militant union, SUD, called an open-ended strike in Paris’ public transport starting on June 10 – the very day the Euro 2016 football tournament is due to kickoff, pledging to cause transport chaos in the French capital unless the government backs down.  
  • A man with extremist links was briefly holed up inside a Paris home today near a march expected to draw thousands of labour protesters.
  • German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble: "France is obviously not unreformable," Mr Schaeuble told journalists. "France can live with such disputes."

Reporting from AFP included in this summary.

What is the French public saying?

A pair of travellers told Associated Press that they supported the protesters despite fears that it could get worse:

It's for us that they're doing this," said Jean-Luc Geraert, whose battered white van was caught behind the makeshift barricade. Geraert, a 55-year-old industrial painter, said if the government doesn't back down soon, "it's going to get worse.

Pierre Jata, a 40-year-old cable TV technician, told AFP that the disruption was the fault of the government as he was rushing to fill up at a petrol station on the edge of the capital, minutes before supplies ran out.

I'm with the unions. I'm with them but I'm still annoyed."

Why is France facing paralysis? 

Workers with the country’s most powerful union, the leftist CGT, are blocking six of France’s eight oil refineries, some of its fuel depots, and plans to shut down or lower output in at least five of its nuclear power plants in a bid have a new labour law scrapped.

How bad are the blockages?

Up to a third of petrol stations are running on empty while panic-buying has worsened the shortage, forcing the state to delve into its strategic petrol reserves, which could theoretically keep pumps flowing for three months. 

Although almost 80 per cent of France’s electricity comes from nuclear power, experts say there will be no blackouts if a few of its 58 reactors are shut, and besides staff are under obligation to respect a minimum service.

But 10 nuclear power stations are now running on reduced output.

What does the unionists want?

President François Hollande’s Socialist government to scrap the labour bill they see an assault on hard-fought workers’ rights.

What does the reform do?

Not much. The so-called El Khomri labour law (named after the French  labour minister, Mariam El Khomri) is a modest attempt to loosen France's labour market by, among other things, making it slightly easier to make employees redundant in hard economic times.

The aim is to encourage notoriously reticent French employers to take on more workers on permanent contracts, rather than short-term ones, without fear of being stuck with them for life or paying heavy fines at the workers’ tribunal. It also includes provisions for negotiations on, say, working hours, to take place within individual companies rather than across sectors.

The government believes it will create thousands of jobs but the IMF, and the French opposition say the reform doesn’t go nearly far enough to significantly reverse record unemployment, now at 10 per cent, and soaring public debt, due to reach 98 per cent of GDP next year.

What do the French think of it?

Three quarters of the French said they are against the law, a poll this month suggested.

How did they express their opposition?

A million people signed a petition against it in February, then mid-March, hundreds of thousands of French started nightly rallies against the bill in a movement dubbed "Nuit Debout", or Up All Night. Unions staged seven national days of protest, with the eighth on Thursday.

French riot police use tear gas against a demonstrator Credit: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA

Why has the CGT escalated the standoff?

Its leader, Philippe Martinnez, wants to burnish his credentials as a tough defender of workers’ rights among die-hard leftists at a time when the CGT is losing members.

How has the government reacted to the blockages?

It ignored earlier protests and bypassed a parliamentary vote to push through the bill. Manuel Valls, the prime minister, on Wednesday pledged to stand firm, saying: "The CGT doesn't make the law in France." President Hollande, meanwhile, knows if he caves in his small hopes of re-election next year will be totally dashed. 

Is more industrial action planned?

Yes, there are open-ended national train and metro strikes starting on May 31 and June 2 respectively.

Could the blockages affect the Euro 2016 football tournament in France, which starts on June 10?

Yes. The unions have already made it clear that “workers come before football”. A poll suggested that 56 per cent of French fear the competition will be disrupted, and an even higher number are concerned that this will prove “catastrophic” for France’s image abroad.

One union, SUD, has called an open-ended strike in Paris public transport starting on day one of the tournament, June 10.

Six in ten French support protesters

It seems the unions have the French on their side: an Ifop poll out on Thursday suggests that six out of ten French think the protest movement and blockages are "justified" and another Opinionway survey found that 66 per cent think François Hollande, the French president, should scrap it.

Nearly 80 arrests made

Protesters interrupted a TV programme with French labour minister, Myriam El Khomri, to call for the law to be scrapped. But Ms El Khomri insisted that she would not revise its most controversial article.

Some 77 arrests were made around the country during today's protests, according to French police.

Riot police officers detain a protestor during a demonstration Credit:  Francois Mori/AP

Tourism is being decimated

France's independent hotel and restaurant umbrella group, GNI, warned the strike action and blockages was decimating tourism and that hotel occupancy has fallen to the same lows as just after the Paris terror attacks in November, writes Henry Samuel in Paris.

It added: "This scorched earth tactics led by a few representing a minority of workers" cease has gone on for too long."

France half-term holiday travel chaos - Q&A 

300,000 protesters?

That's what the Telegraph is hearing from unions:

Some 300,000 protesters took to the streets of France to oppose a controversial labour law, according to the CGT union, while the police put the number at 153,000.

'Better off staying in the UK'

More from Camilla Turner:

Simon Williams, a spokesman for the motoring services company RAC, said: “If you haven’t invested much money in going to France, perhaps you’d be better off enjoying a staycation and not getting involved.

"You really don’t want to risk getting stranded and finding yourself out of fuel. You could end up putting yourself in unnecessary danger."

He warned holidaymakers not to attempt bringing fuel supplies with them to France, since many ferry operators have a five litre limit due to the fire risk posed by bringing it on board.  Today ferry operators began cancelling services to and from France, with Brittany Ferries axing two ferries between Portsmouth and Le Havre, with at least one more cancellation planned for tomorrow.

People cross railway lines during a protest against the government's labour law reforms in Rennes Credit: Jean-Francois Monier/AFP 

The Freight Transport Association has reported that UK lorry drivers are also struggling with the fuel shortage across the Channel. Edmund King, a spokesman for the AA said that the company’s French office has received a 40 per cent increase in fuel-related call outs since last weekend, which he expects will increase in the coming days as the petrol stations continue to run dry.

The popular strategy is to fill up when you get there as its cheaper but that will clearly backfire spectacularly. If the dispute continues to escalate and the majority of petrol stations start to run out, it is probably unwise [to travel to France]."

Demonstrators at Place de la Nation in Paris Credit: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA

France half-term holiday chaos 

Families have been told they may have to cancel half-term holidays to France as strikes cripple the country, causing severe fuel shortages as petrol stations continue to run dry, writes Camilla Turner and Henry Samuel.

Holidaymakers intent on travelling have been urged to stock up with a full tank of fuel before leaving Britain, while motoring organisations warn that trying to save money by filling up in France could “backfire spectacularly” and leave them stranded. 

On Thursday, around half of the country's 10,000 petrol stations had either partially or completely run out of fuel. 

Dozens of flights between the UK and France were cancelled as French air traffic controllers went on strike. 

The dispute over labour reforms has also led to blockades in towns, cities, on motorways and bridges, as well as disruption of the rail network.

Friday's Matt cartoon

Next protests to disrupt Euro 2016

The next big day of protests is planned on June 14, four days after the Euro 2016 soccer tournament opens in France, reports Reuters. More detail on the open-ended strike mentioned above.

The CGT warned it could be disrupted if the government refuses to withdraw the draft reform bill.

"The government has the time to say 'let's stop the clock' and everything will be ok," CGT chief Philippe Martinez said when asked by Reuters if his union was willing to disrupt the soccer contest. The union wants the bill scrapped.

"We will disrupt the Euro (tournament) and the government will be the one to blame," 33-year-old sales worker and CGT representative Naima said during the protest march.

Images are coming in of the violent scenes across France

French police apprehend a youth during a demonstration in Nantes Credit: Stephane Mahe/REUTERS
Riot police officers clash with protestors in Paris Credit: AP Photo/AP Photo
Workers block the access to the nuclear power plant of Nogent-sur-Seine Credit: FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI/AFP PHOTO
A protester returns tear gas with a tennis racket in Paris Credit: ALAIN JOCARD/ AFP

 

 Police clash with protesters during anti-government march 

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Violent standoff underway

A violent standoff was underway at Paris' de la Nation as masked protesters wearing helmets and swimming goggles in some cases hurled rocks at riot police, reports Henry Samuel at Place de la Nation.

The officers responded with tear gas, prompting demonstratiors to rush for cover.

Some waved flags bearing the letters CGT, the hardline union spearheading a day of nationwide protests against the labour law. Some brandishes red flares.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators - 19,000 according to police, 100,000 according to the FO union - marched from Place de la Bastille to Nation in a mainly peaceful protest against a law they want totally scrapped, seeing it an assault on workers' rights. 

One cortège chanted: "All together, general strike! Who are the real hooligans? The state and the bosses."

What happened earlier today

Some of these protests have turned violent, with injuries among police and demonstrators, and fears that mass marches in Paris and other big cities could degenerate has led unions to double the size of their own security arm.  

After driving the labour law through parliament without a vote to bypass leftist opponents, the government has ruled out scrapping it altogether, but ministers on Thursday sent mixed messages over whether any concession could be made over its most contentious clauses. Manuel Valls, the prime minister, said: "There is no question of changing tack, even if adjustments are always possible.”

However, he ruled out backtracking on “article 2” of the law, the most contested, which allows firms to opt out of national obligations on labour protection if they adopt in-house deals on pay and conditions with the consent of a majority of employees.   Unions see this as weakening their hand in labour negotiations.  

Refinery workers stepped up strikes that threaten to paralyse France weeks ahead of the Euro 2016 Credit: AFP

Muddying the waters, however, Michel Sapin, the finance minister, told LCP television that "maybe" that article of the bill should be tweaked.

The SNCF state train company has called a strike on Thursday.

But two-thirds of national, regional and local rail connections were operating, suggesting stoppages by railworkers were hurting less than last week when a similar strike halved the number of trains running.

Meanwhile, thousands of dock workers have poured into the square in front of the city hall of the French port city of Le Havre, setting off smoke bombs throughout the area.

A slogan reads 'Strike and blockade until withdrawal' near a barricade to protest the government's proposed labor law reforms in Donges Credit: Reuters 

The action is part of a day of strikes and protests against a labour bill loosening worker protections. Tensions are particularly high in Le Havre, where workers are blocking one of the country's main oil terminals.

The workers set off multicolour smoke bombs and threw some in fountains, kicking up plumes of water.

Paris police say a doctor who arrived at the home to take the man to a psychiatric hospital sounded the alarm on Thursday.

French media said the man, whose identity has not been released, is believed to have a knife and a tear gas bomb. Police say they have overpowered him but there was no sign yet of police and the man leaving the building.

The CGT has already called on its members to down tools for an indefinite period on Paris public transport starting June 1. Thursday's stoppages and street marches are seen as a test of whether the CGT-led opposition is gaining traction or at risk of fizzling out.

The union has already staged seven other nationwide days of protests in the past two months against the labour reform, which makes it easier to hire and fire employees in the hope of encouraging employers to take on more permanent staff.  

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