French court suspends requisition of striking oil refinery workers

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – A French court on Thursday suspended the requisition of striking workers at an oil refinery owned by TotalEnergies.

Energy workers including those at oil refineries walked out to protest against the government's pension reform.

Their action caused fuel supply disruptions at gas stations in some regions, where drivers waited in line for hours to fill their tanks.

Workers at TotalEnergies' Gonfreville-l'Orcher refinery walked out on March 21 and production stopped, according to broadcaster France Bleu.

Authorities on April 4 forced some staff back to work ahead of the Easter break, when schools will be closed and many families will travel.

However, the administrative court of Rouen ruled that requisition order to ensure adequate supplies of fuel ahead of the Easter weekend did not meet the legal threshold and violated the right to strike.

It added that the prefecture of Seine-Maritime did not prove that public services in terms of oil supplies were disrupted.

The government unveiled the pension reform plan in January and parliament started examining and debating the draft bill the following month.

Workers and trade unions have since expressed growing outrage by holding demonstrations and walkouts against the reform, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, requiring at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension.