Fuel Supply Restored To Paris Region After Police End Refinery Strike - Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The French energy minister assured the nation on Friday that the capital region's fuel stock was being replenished after police broke up a picket outside a key oil refinery.

"Today, the pumping has been unblocked and it effectively allowed the supplying of the region of Ile-de-France," Agnes Pannier-Runacher told RMC radio.

Police moved in early on Friday to disperse oil workers blocking access to TotalEnergies' Gonfreville refinery in the northern coastal region of Normandy. It is France's largest refinery, accounting for 12% of its refining capacity.

Pannier-Runacher said the government had ordered three to four refinery employees back to work on critical shifts after her ministry announced that Paris region airports were running out of jet fuel.

A million French workers walked out of their jobs on Thursday to protest a hugely unpopular pension reform that will raise retirement age from 62 to 64. President Emmanuel Macron's landmark bill was pushed through the parliament without a vote last week under a special clause in the constitution.