Faced with the French government’s plan to reform pensions, the main French unions have called for opposition and are preparing a day mass strike January 19, 2023.

Many sectors will be mobilized for this social movement, which will also involve the oil industry: the CGT oil division has actually announced blocking and shutdown of installations at French oil refineries. A move reminiscent of last fall’s move that led to a significant fuel shortage.

Strike on January 19: panic among motorists

Indeed, the previous refinery strike had created an unprecedented situation across France, with many gas stations no longer able to receive supplies, and the few stations that were still open with endless queues.

At the beginning of the week, motorists, who are again afraid of running out of fuel, go to the service station en masse to refuel. Those these “precautionary” refuelings that risk creating shortagesaccording to various players in the oil industry: They urge the French not to panic and above all, don’t go to refuel if you don’t have to.

Strike on January 19: there will be no shortage in the near future

The strike on January 19 will really last 24 hours: it will not be there in that time there is no immediate impact on fuel supply and service station suppliesaccording to the statements of the representative of the trade union TotalEnergies: “don’t panic”he announces to motoristsEuropean 1.

This opinion is also shared by Olivier Gantois, a spokesman for the oil industry, who spoke into the microphone Information about France : “Trust us, we will be able to supply the stations normally. If you all go and refuel tomorrow morning, we won’t be able to make it.”…

From the side of TotalEnergies, we would like to assure: “There is no shortage of fuel at our gas stations, stocks are at a satisfactory level”reports the oil giant.

Strike on January 19: new fuel shortages

Despite these encouraging statements, motorists are already worried about the future consequences of this strike. Therefore, we note that from this Monday, January 16, the first fuel shortages at the service station.

Even if we are still far from the crisis of last fall, today almost 4% of gas stations in France do not have at least one type of fuel. This figure is growing faster in some regions, for example already over 18% deficit in Yvelines or even over 13% in Pas-de-Calais…

To find out if your area is affected, check real-time maps to see the status of fuel stocks at service stations.