Fuel supply to French airports ‘becoming critical': Ministry

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - The supply of kerosene to France’s Ile-de-France region and its Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and Paris Orly airports "is becoming critical" due to strikes at refineries, the Energy Ministry said Thursday.

In light of this situation, the government has already “issued a requisition order” for the strikers at the TotalEnergies refinery in Normandy, which was shut down last weekend and where the delivery of fuels is blocked, it said.

"The government is following the situation hour by hour and department by department, together with the professionals and the prefects. We intervene specifically to release depots that are obstructed by protesters. As soon as requisition orders cannot be avoided, we will assume our responsibilities," said a statement by Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher.

The French Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been warning airlines for several days that jet fuel stocks at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports are "under tension" and asking them to take precautions by publishing two Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) for this purpose.

Protests and strikes have been ongoing across the country since March 16, when President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne decided to pass pension reform without parliamentary approval based on the constitution.

The reform project calls for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, with at least 43 years of work required to be eligible for a full pension.