Fuel shortage: who has priority at service stations?
Posted Oct 12, 2022, 7:30 AMUpdated on Oct 12, 2022 at 7:52 am
After more than ten days of strike in the French refineries of TotalEnergies and Esso-ExxonMobil, the waiting files continue to lengthen in France. Faced with the renewal of the strike and despite the signing of a majority agreement on Monday, the government has chosen firmness, announcing the requisition of the deposits of the Esso-ExxonMobil group.
To streamline the operation of certain crucial services and allow them to obtain fuel, some prefectures have given them privileged access. Overview.
11 departments have taken special measures
Most of the departments affected by these measures are found in the northern half of France, the area most affected by fuel supply difficulties. For the moment, these are Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Aisne, Oise, Val-d’Oise, Seine-Saint-Denis, Yvelines, Eure- et-Loir, the Vosges and the Vaucluse.
The professions targeted by these measures are those of health, justice and the maintenance of order. Some departments also target approved taxis, or even funeral services. The North and the Somme have thus set up special access files between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in several stations for emergency vehicles, home care (doctors, nurses) and funeral directors.
In Aisne, the prefecture has set up specific files in certain stations for ambulances, medical and paramedical personnel (such as pharmacists), but also persons holding public authority (police, justice, gendarmerie). The department of Oise has adopted the same model. In the south of France, the department of Vaucluse gives priority access to public service vehicles or companies providing this type of service.
A larger list in Pas-de-Calais
With 59.1% of service stations affected by supply difficulties, Pas-de-Calais is one of the departments most affected by shortages. He thus drew up a fairly extensive list of priority vehicles. In addition to the professions already a priority in the other departments, the prefecture also targets prison services, customs, mine clearance services, social health services and the transport of blood and organs.
Intervention vehicles are also concerned, in particular tow trucks, those dedicated to road and motorway maintenance and public electricity.
Disparities for taxis
This Monday, the National Taxi Union demanded privileged access to all gas stations in France, in the same way as ambulances. Without success so far. To date, the only departments to benefit from such a measure are Hauts-de-France and Pas-de-Calais. This only concerns approved taxis. A claim shared by the German company FlixBus, which claims to be “Europe’s leading road passenger carrier”.
More generally, all the departments affected by these shortages have banned the sale of fuel in cans or jerry cans. They have also multiplied calls for good citizenship from private motorists.