What happened

Strikes over pay and profit-sharing, led by the CGT union, shut down or curtailed operations at six of France's seven oil refineries beginning in late September 2022, with TotalEnergies and Esso/ExxonMobil sites most affected; only the Lavera refinery near Marseille was reported to be operating normally through the early part of the dispute. As the strike extended into October, more than 30% of French petrol stations experienced supply shortages or complete dry-outs, prompting long queues and panic buying in the Paris region and elsewhere. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne described the situation in parts of France as 'unbearable,' and on 12 October the government issued a legal requisition order compelling striking depot workers back to work to restore fuel deliveries, with a government spokesman warning that the requisition could be extended to TotalEnergies facilities. Some unions criticised the requisition as an infringement on the right to strike and vowed to continue action, while at least one union reached a separate pay deal and ended its participation; an additional union reportedly joined the strike specifically in response to the requisition order. The dispute gradually eased as pay agreements were reached at the affected sites and requisitioned depots resumed normal staffing. No casualties, physical damage, spills or attacks were reported; this is documented as a major labour-driven disruption to critical fuel infrastructure rather than an accident or attack, and is distinct from the separate, larger pension-reform-driven refinery strikes of March 2023 recorded elsewhere in this dataset.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.