A QUARTER of all French service stations were still without fuel yesterday as Nicolas Sarkozy’s popularity ratings fell to a record low amid the prolonged demonstrations against the president’s pension reforms.
Despite Mr Sarkozy’s vow not to let the country be taken “hostage”, there was no end in sight for the fuel protests that have caused severe shortages of diesel in Paris and western France as millions of motorists took to the roads for the half-term school holidays.
An Ifop opinion poll for Le Journal de Dimanchefound that 70 per cent of those asked were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with Mr Sarkozy – equalling the record of his predecessor Jacques Chirac for the most unpopular president since 1958.
All of France’s 12 oil refineries have shut down and some of the largest fuel depots are blocked by strikers even though the president ordered the police on Wednesday to restore access.
Raymond Soubie, the president’s social affairs adviser, told Europe 1 radio yesterday the situation would only improve “very gradually”. One in four service stations lacked supplies, Mr Soubie said.
François Fillon, prime minister, said in the middle of last week that it would take four to five days for fuel supplies to get back to normal, but the situation has hardly improved in some parts of the country.
One-third of service stations in the Paris region and western France – the areas worst hit – were out of either petrol or diesel yesterday.
Supply problems were less severe in the east, north and south-west of the country.
Shortages at the pump are if anything likely to get worse today because the effort to replenish service stations was put on hold yesterday, a mandatory Sunday rest day for tanker drivers.
The pensions reform Bill – which includes an increase in the retirement age from 60 to 62 – will pass its final parliamentary hurdles this week.
A joint committee of both houses will today reconcile two versions of the Bill and a final vote will take place in the Senate on Tuesday and in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Mr Sarkozy is likely to sign the Bill into law in mid-November, Mr Soubie said. The government hopes that demonstrations will lose steam once the legislative process is over.
Union leaders have called for more nationwide strikes and demonstrations on October 28th and November 6th.
Jean-Louis Borloo, environment and energy minister, on Saturday appealed for striking refinery employees to return to work, saying France “had come close to a very serious crisis”.
However, refinery employees gave no sign of being willing to end their protest. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010