What can we expect from Thursday’s strike in France?

The strike, which began on Sept. 13, threatened to delay efforts to bring more than half of France’s nuclear reactors back online, just as France has threatened to limit power due to Russia’s crackdown on natural gas exports to Europe. This is because we are facing a shortage of

There was also the risk of a general strike against rapid inflation as protests by refinery workers led to gasoline shortages across the country.

The wage deal in the nuclear sector will see a 5% wage increase for the lowest earners and a 2.5% increase for managers with bonuses yet to be confirmed, said union director Franck Redondo.

“If the unions ratify the agreement on Monday, the problem will be solved for us. We will all come back and do everything we can to get these power plants back into operation,” said the north of France, the largest in western Europe. Redondo, an FO union officer at the Gravelines nuclear power plant, said.

About 20 of the country’s 56 reactors, spread across 18 power plants, have been shut down for months due to safety risks from faulty welds and maintenance work.

EDF is rushing to get them back online before winter, when demand for electricity surges, as people spend more time at home with their heating on.

“Negotiations are over, an EDF spokesman told AFP.

Gravelines nuclear power plant employees gather at the entrance during a strike in Gravelines, northern France. October 20, 2022. Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP

Meanwhile, strikes by workers at oil major Total Energy continue at two sites: the Gonfreville refinery near Le Havre in the north, and the Faysin fuel depot near the southeastern city of Lyon.

While employees lifted lockdowns on other TotalEnergies sites, nearly 20% of gas stations were without at least one type of fuel on Friday, the start of the fall school holidays, a major travel period.

“I used the car as little as possible and worked from home,” said Mikael Gramen, 43, after waiting in a long queue in the Boulogne-Billancourt southwest suburb of Paris to fill up before leaving on vacation. Said when I was waiting to become in Deauville, northern France.

The CGT union announced on Friday that it will carry out renewed nationwide strikes on Oct. 27 and Nov. 10 to demand higher wages, after Tuesday’s strike that disrupted public transport and other services.

The protests are the latest in mounting pressure as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to push reformist agendas, particularly raising the retirement age to 64 or 65 from the current 62, on parliament. is a sign of

A similar attempt sparked a massive strike two years ago, with the government abandoning an overhaul amid the Covid-10 epidemic.

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