Recently, several refineries of Total and ExxonMobil in France have been shut down due to strikes. In order to ease the oil shortage in France, the French government has launched expropriation orders on some refinery strikers, forcing them to return to work, so as to ensure the supply of fuel.
Commandeered workers would have to open the valves at the oil storage center to allow tankers to fill up and deliver fuel to the gas station, or face criminal sanctions.
The strike is reported to have severely disrupted fuel distribution, particularly in northern and central France and around Paris. Supplies at more than 30 percent of French gas stations have been affected.
French road, train, education, health and public sector workers staged a nationwide strike on October 18 to demand higher pay in response to soaring prices. Meanwhile, a strike continues at a French nuclear power plant, which has already disrupted operations at a third of the country's plants.
The strike has already forced Electricite de France SA to delay the restart of several nuclear units by several weeks, RTE said on Tuesday, despite good progress in repairing pipes at the plant affected by so-called stress corrosion cracks.
France is playing a key role in helping Europe cope with the wider energy crisis as Russia cuts gas exports to Europe. For most of the past, France has been a net exporter of electricity. However, EDF's nuclear units have been hobbled by technical problems since December, turning France into a net importer of electricity and putting pressure on supplies in other countries.
Edf said nuclear power production in the first two weeks of November would be lower than it had forecast a month ago. "A delay in strike activity will have serious consequences for the winter," RTE said in a report. As of Tuesday, only 29 of the 56 nuclear power units operated by RTE were online. However, RTE added that there was little risk to energy supply security in the next two weeks and moderate risk in the first half of November, given that a severe cold snap was unlikely in early November.
The strikes have spread to other parts of the energy industry, including EDF, the French nuclear giant, which has been forced to delay routine maintenance of its plants, which are vital to a stable supply of electricity in Europe.
The strike is affecting the operation of 10 nuclear power plants and further delaying the maintenance of 13 reactors, reducing France's total power generation by 2.2 gigawatts, a union representative of FNME-CGT, France's largest energy union, said on Monday.
French grid operator RTE said on the same day that the risk of power shortages in France this winter would increase if ongoing strikes continued to delay repairs and maintenance of nuclear power units.
In a report, RTE said a delay in strike activity could have "serious consequences". As of Tuesday, it was uncertain whether 25 of the 56 nuclear power units operated by RTE would be brought back online. However, RTE added that risks to energy supply security were low over the next two weeks, given that a severe cold snap was unlikely in early November.
In response to a possible energy crisis this winter, the French government, local authorities and businesses have pledged to reduce the use of heating and lighting. RTE has also been promoting its "Ecowatt" warning system, which calls on customers, including homes, to further reduce and delay power consumption to avoid rolling blackouts in the event of a looming shortage. RTE said it was unlikely to use its Ecowatt warning system, particularly its red alert, for the next four weeks, while the network operator reiterated its call for vigilance throughout the winter.
RTE said manufacturing companies were already reducing power consumption after the surge. In addition, France could benefit from recent improvements in dam storage, the filling of gas storage, and the restoration of a 1 gigawatt connector to the UK, which is due to start operating at the end of October.