French fuel strike
 

Anyone heading this way should be VERY aware that there is a fuel shortage. The last two days the mariners have been blocking the ports, tomorrow is an all out strike & likely to continue for a while unless Sarko backs down.

Around here there's no unleaded left and a ration on diesel 15euros at most garages and the price has spiralled to 155 in places!

Will update tomorrow after the general strike (if I get home from my work with civil servants!)

Kira

Really??? Sh*t!!!
 

Seemed to be loads this morning, and I have to admit I didn't even know about this. Just went and bought some in Shopi though, to be sure, and no restrictions here and loads of fuel, maybe the Bretons get special treatment?

You can tell that the season for disruption in France is approaching!

It has been reported on the UK news today that there have been no ferries running for Brittainy, P&O or Speedferries - no reason was given, but that probably adds up to a problem on the French port side of the channel (Eurotunnel was reported to be OK).

Today's the general strike although the teachers are at school (having taken the last 2 Thursdays off to strike). It's mainly the transport unions.

Fuel seems OK today, no queues, no empty tanks ... the road wasn't even blocked on the way to work ...

So maybe it's all calming down, haven't seen the news today yet!

Kira

Fuel as normal in the Charente today, at least the bit I was in.
As far as I know there haven't been any recent problems with fuel round here.

After yesterday being fine, we now have one petrol station out of 8 in the nearest town with fuel. The others are DRY.

I'm not sure what's going on, Carcassonne is a bit hit & miss I would think only 30% were open today of the ones I went past.

Hopefully things will be back to normal come Monday!

Kira

french strike
 

at least the french strike properly and they normally get what they want!
after living in france for numerous years i got used to it and thought it was great the way they stand up to the government. i'm back in britain now and everybody moans but do nothing like a bunch of weasel's! the last demonstration of the fuel prices was a joke here and when i offered to the boss i'd park my truck across the M25 and shut down london he said NO! what a wimp!
GO FOR IT THE FRENCH!
cant wait to go back there in 3yrs time.

This part of Brittany's still fine, although Guingamp was infested with 500 slow moving protesting pensioners and the CRS were out in force apparently blockading Carrefour.

Agree with you 100% :thumbup1::thumbup1:

does anyone have the latest on the petrol situation in france, areas affected and is it going to get worse? i'm heading from caen down to treignac on friday. i thought all i had to worry about was the weather:helpsmilie:

Over here in the Charente, sort of 50 - 60 mile west of where you are going there is no fuel I'm afraid.
This is in the local supermarkets and generally round and about.
I don't know what other parts of France are like or what it will be like tomorrow, but today, 26th. of May, they isn't any.
This is in the local supermarkets and generally round and about.
Sorry.

cheers hustler.

Just to say Brittany's still fine, and there seems to be petrol and diesel everywhere. That said, the fishermen are blocking selected roads with their "Operations Escargot", but that's only a slow filter through and they do give you free fresh fish.

Is this going to be a long term thing?
I'm travelling over to the Tenere International weekend near Metz this coming friday and hoping there won't be any fuel problems then!

Andy

We've been moaning and groaning in the good ol' USA, but we don't have the guts to stand up to much of anything. I think a good strike would do the trick here. As much as we put down the French a few years ago--I say go for it--shut down the country and let them know that the country is there for you, not the other way around!

Yuma simon,

Please dont make me sick! do you KNOW that you pay less then HALF of the prices in France or most places in europe???
The USA price is at the same level as most developping country's in Africa!

So a strike in the US?? :nono: I'd say pump up the price overthere and bring it up to international level.

But of course the realities are somewhat different if you live here.
You can't get fuel to go and visit a relative in hospital, or get to the shops to get your provisions, or get to work to earn money, or the woodman can't deliver your wood so you have no fuel for the fire.
I should point out that scenario is not here at the moment, or even on the current horizon, and hopefully the dispute will all be settled shortly.

I remember the last big strike in 2000 and it was tough ...

Currently here we're all conserving fuel as best we can - jerry cans are NOT allowed to be filled up ... which means filling up and then siphoning it off at home to give to neighbours!!!

Some fuel around but we're not sure if/when they'll be filling up the tanks again at the supermarkets/service stations ..

Kira

Fuel at our local supermarket today in the Charente whereas yesterday there was none to be found at several local supermarkets, so maybe the worst is over.
Only maybe of course as this was not a scientific, conclusive study I'm afraid.

An American moaning about fuel prices ? :) You don't know how lucky you are. Your government is so scared about fuel prices there would be a 2nd revolution if you had to pay anything even close to what we do ! Try doubling what you pay and then add a bit extra just for a laugh....

Brittany still full of fuel, but all ports blocaded so no getting in. Also a nice lot of tire burning on the Routes Nationales, and the farmers are out too.

Still I did get a free bag of artichokes this morning to go with my free scallops.

We are experiencing dramatic price increases on gasoline and staple food products that the food producers are blaming on fuel price increases. Plus, we are told that we are in a recession, so our wages are staying stagnant--it is worse than it appears, whether we are paying half price or not. We have actually achieved for the first time, the actual declining of wages, where we are earning less than our parents did--so yes, shoot the price of gasoline up dramatically, while the oil companies are flaunting record profits, and just sit back and think "wow, I am paying less for gasoline than others..." I don't think so!

half hearted
 

today in britain we had an half hearted attempt at a protest on the price of fuel. lorry drivers doing 40 mph down the motorway in convoy in the slow lane! they're always in the slow lane and everyone drove past as normal!
what a waste of time with no disruption whatsoever! i offered to go block the other 2 lanes at 40mph also but the boss said no as it's not good for the public image! what an arsehole! he spends about £100,000 a week on diesel and he's not even protesting about the price/tax hikes.
britain needs to get together and stop being lemmings! at the last fuel protest in london i was delivering in london and did'nt know it was even going on!
that's my little rant and now off to bed for dreams of cheap petrol :rofl:
allez les francais!

The usa government is spending huge amounts of money ( more than the rest of teh world put together) on miltary hardware developement. It is spending money it does not have and just printing more. It does not Buy oil, it pays for it with a dollar IOU. The consequence is teh perceived value of teh dollar is diminuishing. Hence you have to pay more numbers of dollars for the same real thing. A real thing is a potato, sheep or litre of fuel. A dollar note is an IOU that may or may not be honored so has a percieved value but no real value of itself. Most other currencies are linked to teh dollar so are experiencing the same effects. You need to re-align your thinking, goods are not getting expensive, money is getting cheap. Governments love cheap money, because they pay out less in social payments such as pensions, and earn more because the tax thresholds are worth less. For instance, if you pay 10% sales tax and a lettuce costs 50 cents, the tax is 5 cents to teh government. If the lettuce costs 5 dollars it is 50 cents to teh government.. They benefit from low value currencies and budget with inflation ( read devaluation of currency) in mind. The UK is waiting for teh euro and pound to get close to parity then they will join the euro area. This will effectively reduce pensions and every other asset you might have by 40% and provide them with a whole host of benefits.

The one secret weapon that we Americans have, and our government needs to really watch out for, is a huge arsenal of privately owned firearms. There are many back-hills ultra-paranoid, religious nutcases who, just a couple of years ago, sounded crazy, but now I am starting to hear the once embedded messages of them.

I know that once the threshold is reached, I wouldn't hesitate to use my firearms, if necessary, to keep food on the table. Yes, it would take alot to reach that point, but I am starting to see the what "they" see.

Update:

The farmers are up in arms about fuel; there was a report in the paper on Friday; whether this will lead to further shortages is unclear at the moment but I'm filling up regularly now in case I get stranded & can't get to work ...

Will keep you posted!

Kira

The USA has cheap gas because it has little tax on it. Gas is a commodity and traded on an open market dose not matter who byes it UK, France, USA or China.

The same people saying the USA will be paying $4.00 to 5.00 in 2008 said it will be $8.00 to 9.00 in 2009. That may ham string the USA economy not being able to afford to move products. Not even USA government military spending will get us out of this one. Cheap dollers or not (but a nice little war may hide it for a little bit).

A civil war is not going to amount to much from the nut jobs We got them there not well armed or trained a few tanks helos and planes and there done. All bark no bite. (or anti armor rockets and aircraft). Been around them there way is not going to work a gun dose not make you powerfull.

The USA government has done same thing the French one is doing now. There is plenty of gas there gust causing unrest shifting the blame to the producers, the commodity market, the consumers who ever. Boosting the price on it taxing the hell of it and lining there pockets with billions. Its the rich getting richer crushing the poor under there heal and blaming it all on some one else. You will be trading your old cars for new shinny high miles per gallon ones next. There will investigations by the government (the ones making all this happen) and low and behold they find nothing or pin it all who evere they dont like right now.

A little jaded? yah I am. Seen it all done seen all the people fall for it they wave the flag with out a shot fired then wonder what hapend when the check comes in.

National Strike by general public planned ...
 

JUST GOT THIS FROM FRIENDS ... BY e-mail, seems to be making the rounds ...

Préavis de grève national le lundi 16 Juin 2008.

Il n'y a qu'une façon de faire pression : la MOBILISATION de tous les automobilistes Français qu'y on vu leur 'budget' gasoil - essence être multiplié par 2 ou 3 en 6 mois !

Comme à chaque révolution, ce qui fait notre force c'est notre nombre.

Nous allons bloquer la France entière et prendre le gouvernement en otage !!

Qui : Tous les automobilistes FRANCAIS.

Quoi : Blocage des routes, autoroutes, chemin de fer...

Comment : Des centaines de voiture à l'arrêt sur toutes les routes de France devrait marcher aussi bien que des camions, des tracteurs ou des bateaux.

Pourquoi : Le gasoil à 1€.

Grace à internet, ce mail peut faire le tour de France en quelques minutes, alors au boulot les 'Vache à lait', faite marcher le 'Transférer ce mail'

Bonne chance à tous.

Come the revolution!
 

Yep - same thing happened in the UK a few years ago - the Government encouraged us all to buy diesel cars (when diesel was significantly cheaper than petrol) under the auspicion that they were more economic (despite the fact most diesel engined cars cost significantly more than the petrol engined equivalent) so we all did...

And now diesel is 15+% more than petrol on the forecourts, and the cost per litre has increased 30% in the past six months - it's a f**king scandal!

The dollar price for fuel proves how much it actually costs... the rest is the greedy Euro Governments creaming off the tax, and even having the gaul to say it's for 'environmental reasons'... like I say, it's a f**king scandal!!!

xxx

Why is VAT a far worse tax than fuel tax?

Its a worse tax because it applies to nearly everything you buy, including essentials...it is a tax which favours the rich every time, and discriminates against the poor. It is astonishing how they got away with it. The millionaire pays the same tax as a pauper - and many cant see it. Fuel tax is also a poll tax on wheels, like VAT, but VAT is on everything.

Can't really agree with that. Much as I don't like paying taxes, unfortunately a degree of taxation is necessary to fund the infrastructure and a tax on purchasing is as good a way as any. Most if not all European countries have VAT and before that we had purchase tax as they still do in most states of America. Rich people do pay more tax than poor people as they usually spend more.

Actually VAT is worse, beacuse after they put duty on it (fuel tax) they then charge VAT on the tax. IE they tax us for paying tax.

Another little twist to poor people hating GB, bit like teh tax changes he snuck in three years ago to tax people whose income is below the tax threshold.

Any HUBBers "on the ground" in France at present who can advise the status of petrol availability in light of the current blockades of French refineries?. I'll be riding from Spain to Germany in the next couple of days and would like to know if I should carry enough gas to transit France without the need to stop at a petrol station.

Many thanks,
Chris

I think the strike may be over by now, it was May 2008! :confused1:

Dave, think you shot yourself in the foot there judging by your sign off message :)

There is NO fuel available in my neck of the woods, west France, today 18 Oct 2010.
Fortunately I did fill up Saturday at a little off the beaten track 24/7 Automat station. It is empty now. I have enough fuel to make it to the ferry port tomorrow. Will be able to get back if I board at Plymouth with a full tank.

I might just take a couple of empty cans with me to bring back full.

Chris, If you can carry enough fuel for the transit, I would advise you to do so.

I so admire the French unions, its just a great pity the British don't bring such widespread strikes.

Strike is quite not yet over for this one.


Situation is tight, you can have a look at this map which shows empty petrol stations reported by people.

http://www.carbu.fr/stationvides.php


There is a big confusion here, some (a few) closed stations may be re-opening here and there for a short period of time, depending on the availability of refuelling from main stock facilities.

South of Paris here, some SP95/98 left, not much. According to the news, in some remote regions of France, situation is critical.

It first started with a rush on "gasoil" last week (70%+ of cars in France run gasoil + trucks), but now unleaded petrol SP95/SP98 is less and less available as stock are not renewed (or scarcely and with difficulty).

You could adjust your route and get straight to Switzerland on your way to Germany, to shorten your transit in France.

Depending on your route, to be on the safe side, make sure you carry a spare can, and check often station you'll find on your way while to refuel whenever possible, there might be some SP95/98 left here and there. Good luck !

Ive just got back to France 2 hours ago travelling 70 miles from Caen we saw no available fuel all the overnight stations had bollards in front and where closed, the new service area at Argentan was also shut.
On checking in at Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries they where telling everyone they could carry no extra fuel on board! & where checking most vehicles. So check with your ferry company first as people where having to leave fuel there.
Good Luck and I,ll give update tomorrow.

I came back through France on Sunday from the Alps and didn't have any problems but a lot can change in two days. Many filling stations had long queues and were refusing to fill cans. One refused to put fuel in the tank of an MX bike on a trailer.

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I'll be buying jerry cans and tying them on the back. La Joqueria to Geneva is 630 odd km. My tank holds 18 litres an dI get 18 km per litre so 20litres will do, i hope.

cheers
Chris in Barcelona

Hi Dave
You might want to get you current affairs news from more reputable sources rather than "Readers Wives" or "Hello" Magazine.

Hi the others who replied,
Made it to cousin's house on French side of border with Switzerland. I rode the A9 and a few bits on the RN. All smaller gas stations were closed. Some bigger stations on the motorway had cars at the pumps. Didn't stop to check if they were filling up or just cleaning their windscreens (or buying French versions of the news mags that Dave reads....)

The fuel I bought in Spain was cheaper than the French stuff would have been and the nice workers at a Spanish fuel station gave me free 5 litre plastic cans for my fuel. So quids in. Have more beer money.

Last time I was in this situation was in Zimbabwe in 2000 where there wasn't any fuel either. Robert Gabriel and Nico have a few other similarities too...

cheers
C

The advice about taking cans is good, because the current situation is unpredictable and changeable. A station may be out of diesel, but have petrol - and vice versa. Additionally, supplies do arrive, but you don't know when.

So I would hesitate to say the situation is OK or not because, as stated, it changes daily. In the Massif Central, there appears to be fuel generally available, but it would be misleading to say all is OK.

Same here in Normandy, it changes by the hour. Some of the supermarkets are only serving fuel in the evening so the carpark is not blocked for the shoppers during the day. The only thing which is constant is gpl/lpg which is great because thats what my 4 wheels runs on.

Or have I just been lucky?
 

Hi all,

Returned yesterday to the UK from Tunisia through France. We'd heard all about the problems - ports blockaded, no fuel, roads blocked etc, and we feared the worst.

We docked at Marseille with no problems, it was only the oil terminal that was blockaded, ferries were running fine. For the drive home, we'd considered hot-footing it to Italy, then up through Switz, Germany, Lux and Belgium.

I spoke to a depannage guy on the dock and he said the motorway was clear so we thought we'd give it a go - our tanks were full of Tunisian diesel and we had enough to get home. We drove all the way from Marseille to Dunkerque with no problems whatsoever. Every time we stopped for a coffee, the service stations were fine. No queues, no rationing, no hassle. We saw no blockades. When we stopped for the evening at Valence the local fuel stations had plenty of diesel. Before we boarded the ferry at Dunkerque we decided to check out the Auchan hypermarket. Same deal, no queues so we filled up, got on the boat and went home.

We might have just been extraordinarily lucky so I'd recommend "destroyer tactics" ie when you stop for a break, fill your tank even if it's 3/4 full.

Happy trails,

Jojo