01:23France: Striking fuel refinery workers protest new labour law
Striking workers continued to gather outside a Total refinery in Feyzin, near Lyon on Wednesday, in protest against the country's controversial new labour law, as France begins to use its strategic stocks to avoid fuel shortages.
Workers set up information tents at the entrance of the refinery and handed out leaflets to drivers who tried to pass through the protest area. The strike has mostly affected Total, with its refineries in Normandy and Feyzin having halted production. Other refineries have seen their output reduced.
A total of six out of France's eight refineries are currently affected by the strike, with the government having released its strategic fuel reserves in response. French Transport Minister Alain Vidalies said on Wednesday that between one- and two-fifths of the country's 12,000 petrol stations are already running out of fuel.
Commonly referred to as the 'El Khomri law,' after French Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri, labour reforms were recently imposed by decree after the government survived a vote of no-confidence. The reforms will concern almost all aspects of the country's labour laws; aiming to extend the working week from the current 35 hours to a maximum of 46 hours, among other measures.
01:23Striking workers continued to gather outside a Total refinery in Feyzin, near Lyon on Wednesday, in protest against the country's controversial new labour law, as France begins to use its strategic stocks to avoid fuel shortages.
Workers set up information tents at the entrance of the refinery and handed out leaflets to drivers who tried to pass through the protest area. The strike has mostly affected Total, with its refineries in Normandy and Feyzin having halted production. Other refineries have seen their output reduced.
A total of six out of France's eight refineries are currently affected by the strike, with the government having released its strategic fuel reserves in response. French Transport Minister Alain Vidalies said on Wednesday that between one- and two-fifths of the country's 12,000 petrol stations are already running out of fuel.
Commonly referred to as the 'El Khomri law,' after French Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri, labour reforms were recently imposed by decree after the government survived a vote of no-confidence. The reforms will concern almost all aspects of the country's labour laws; aiming to extend the working week from the current 35 hours to a maximum of 46 hours, among other measures.