The government carried out its threat.
While part of France is affected by severe shortages of fuel in service stations, following the strike movement of refinery employees, Elisabeth Borne announced on Tuesday the launch of a procedure to requisition employees of the Esso company.
The unions had already protested against this possibility on Tuesday morning: "We will go to court to have the requisitions canceled", warned Eric Sellini, CGT coordinator for TotalEnergies, while the CGT of Esso-ExxonMobil denounced " a questioning of the right to strike”.
“We hear employees talking about questioning their right to strike, but we must not forget the other imperatives that are essential.
The continuity of the public service is not yet at stake,
but this can have an impact on its operation, ”points out Marlène Elmassian, social law lawyer at the Jacques-Duval firm.
We take stock.
What legal bases?
Two legal possibilities are available to the executive to force the resumption of activity.
Article L2215-1 paragraph 4 of the General Local Authorities Code provides for the possibility for prefects to “requisition any goods or services, request any person necessary for the operation of this service”.
Another option exists for the government, to order the requisition itself, as authorized by the Defense Code.
But this type of case is rather reserved for war situations or defense issues.
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“In the current situation, it is rather likely that we will resort to the prefects”, underlines the lawyer Marlène Elmassian, and it is indeed them that the Prime Minister appointed in the hemicycle on Tuesday.
The latter will be able to act in the departments concerned by both blockages and shortages.
On the other hand, impossible for the employer to requisition its employees, this would constitute an infringement of the right to strike.
Why can the government get involved in a dispute within a private company?
“A private gasoline supply company is not considered an essential service, recognizes Marlène Elmassian, but it is an activity of high importance so that it is possible to requisition”, according to the case law in force.
Indeed, “this puts our invention vehicles, road safety and therefore public order in difficulty.
It is not the lives of French people that are at stake if they are deprived of this service, but indirectly this can have consequences”.
What actually happens?
Employees can then be requisitioned to allow production sites to restart and allow minimal operation, limited to “essential services”, that is to say, once again, safety and health services in particular.
In concrete terms, these employees must return to their posts.
The order provides for the duration for which the requisition is pronounced, but it may be renewed as long as necessary.
“In 2010, there had already been a similar case and the requisition had been put in place for six days”, underlines Marlène Elmassian.
Who benefits from requisitions?
"It is necessary that the perimeter of requisition is specified, we could not say
we all have the right to supply our car
", underlines Marlène Elmassian.
“We can imagine that the prefectural decrees provide for priority access for emergency vehicles to service stations for example”, she recalls.
Asked about RTL this Tuesday morning, the government spokesman, Olivier Véran, went in this direction by declaring that there were “procedures which provide for priority access to petrol stations”, and that there would be “decisions case by case ".
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On the other hand, it is impossible to imagine a requisition on the simple grounds that this strike complicates the daily life of the French, or causes queues of several hours.
“It would be completely disproportionate.
The right to strike is a right with constitutional value, the infringement must be reasonable.
Requisitioning for emergency vehicles, yes, but because some people cannot go shopping, no”, summarizes the lawyer.
Concretely, therefore, even if the fuel becomes available again in many stations, the prefectural decrees should provide that it is used in priority for emergency vehicles and nursing staff for example.
This could limit the desired impact of this measure: shorten the endless queues.