Refinery Blocking

[Lehaut]

"Les routiers maintiennent leur appel à la grève le 25 septembre"

Panic at the pumps here yesterday, rumours that the strikers may block the refineries abound!

[idun]

 And that is why I asked in another thread how the 'greve' affected people on here.

Such things as refineries being blocked or simply the wagon drivers blocking 'France' affected our lives a lot.

[mint]

On seeing your post, lehaut, I immediately took one of the cars to fill up.  A bigger queue than normal and people buying bottled gas but I live in a rural area so I mean sort of 10 cars instead of 2 or 3 filling up.

Will take another car to be filled up later and that should do us for several weeks!

[andyh4]

Well here in the outback the supermarket seemed to be much busier than usual (people stocking up?) but there was if anything less of a queue at the filling station than normal - when I arrived one pump from the four was not occupied, so I filled up immediately.

[woolybanana]

Topped up late yesterday but only because I had to get fuel for the mower; there were perhaps a few extra cars but nothing like a panic.

Last time it happened there were a couple of dry or restricted days but then there was plenty; supplies were said to be coming from Dunkirk but as that was blocaded I suspect tankers were coming via the small back roads from Belgium.

Today's demo is in Paris so may not affect anyone locally but as things heat up, if they do, then it may go local. Particularly if the CGT hotheads decide to take the law into their own hands again.

[lindal1000]

Just driven up from the Pyrenees and no queues or shortages. Didn't even know there was a blockade.

[DerekJ]

Since seeing this thread (I never knew anything about it before)  I've been trying to get a feel for what's happening here.

We are planning to return to the Lot for the last 3 weeks or so of October and close down the house for the winter.

A few years ago we got messed up by fuel shortages that resulted in us cutting short our visit and making a run for Calais whilst we had a full tank.

From what I've read since seeing this thread the industrial action related to fuel distribution is all a bit vague with no very clear picture of what is happening/likely to happen. I also see that there have been some motorway blockages. 

Any thoughts?

[Chancer]

There probably wont be any industrial action, they dont need to lose pay striking when social media, internet forums and panic buying do their dirty work for them.

 

Their speaketh the hypocrit who filled his tank last week (it was empty) and a jerrycan [:$]

 

If it does pan out bad like the other year you can stop off on your return and plunder my reserve if you need it.

[woolybanana]

How long do petrol and diesel keep in jerrycans, svp?

[DerekJ]

Always hard knowing how to judge this. I do need to come back before winter sets in in order to "winterise" the house otherwise I'd probably not bother if there was a lot of uncertainty.

One option would be to buy or bring  a couple of big jerry cans over and try and fill them whilst in France, then keeping the car topped up. That way if a real problem occurred I'd at least have the ability to get back to Calais. I'd have to fill the car up from the cans and empty them before getting on the ferry.

Not a very perfect solution but I suppose it would be workable.

[crabtree]

http://www.sudouest.fr/2017/09/25/routiers-en-colere-premiers-blocages-et-manifestations-lundi-matin-3805909-4755.php

[Chancer]

We have both Intermarché and Super-U filling stations plus a Shell station that no-one ever uses as its about 10cts per litre plus cher (there used to be an Esso like that as well which went bust)

 

In 12 years I have only seen collectively about a dozen vehicles use the Shell station, today they were queueing down the road which means Inter and Super must have been en rupture or rationing the fill ups.

 

It will only get worse and the routiers wont need to manifest.

[DerekJ]

Thanks for the feedbacks... not what I wanted to hear but at least I've got a better idea of the problem.

[Harnser]

Replying to woolybanana:-

For diesel the official line is about a year.

http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp-country/en_au/media/fuel-news/long-term-storage-diesel.pdf

However- I would avoid keeping it in a metal container as this promotes the formation of condensation and water or moisture in diesel fuel can encourage the dreaded diesel bug.

For petrol again the official line is 3 - 5 months but I have kept and used petrol for longer.

[pomme]

There is a zoomable nationwide map showing information on fuel availability together with downloadable Android/iPhone apps at https://mon-essence.fr/

[AnOther]

Diesel almost indefinitely, petrol for as long as you'd practically want to hold a stock of it I'd say.

The more 'E' sh1te in it the more likely it is to go off (or so it's claimed) but kept well sealed I still think you'd be counting in low years rather than weeks or months.

You don't want to get our American cousins going on the subject though because you wouldn't believe the extraordinary lengths some of them go to just to put a car to bed for a few weeks or months over the Winter and the 'gas going off' seems to head the list almost every time with some believing it will happen over that sort of period.

Challenge them to define 'going off' is usually a fun game though always remembering that it's the nation which not only elected Trump but have allowed him to survive even this long !

[DerekJ]

Thanks Pomme... useful.

What's does everyone reckon then... will Macron cave in soon or will he let the mayhem continue?

[woolybanana]

I sincerely hope that Macron does not cave in; France badly needs change and what Macron is proposing is but a small step towards it. Presidents have been thwarted for far too long by left wing bullies who need to be put back in their cages once and for all.

[AnOther]

Comment from one driver "We also have an exception when it comes to retirement. We don't retire

five years early, we have a five-year paid holiday before retirement"

Leaving aside the rationale for early retirement which was rooted in the days of the steam railways so probably predates them all anyway, other than semantically and possibly financially can somebody explain to me the practical difference between retirement and a 5 year paid holiday before it ?

If those are the sort of arguments they base their case on then they all want sacking now, plenty of Eastern European drivers willing to take their place and WORK for a living.

[crabtree]

Just an update from Sarlat, South East 24, no queues, all pumps available in all local garages.

[woolybanana]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Will get jerrycan out of shed; it has always been shut and never used but I will air it bit before filling up.

Wily Oiseau went from the Vendee to Caen and even managed to top up, though she didnt need it, without incident; she did take the precaution of avoiding the points of potential blockage en route, so took a bit longer but says that the Normandy countryside was stunningly beautiful.

She is now safely on a furry (sic) pottering across to P'mouth, inshallah.

[BritinBretagne]

[quote user="AnOther"]Comment from one driver "We also have an exception when it comes to retirement. We don't retire

five years early, we have a five-year paid holiday before retirement"

Leaving aside the rationale for early retirement which was rooted in the days of the steam railways so probably predates them all anyway, other than semantically and possibly financially can somebody explain to me the practical difference between retirement and a 5 year paid holiday before it ?

If those are the sort of arguments they base their case on then they all want sacking now, plenty of Eastern European drivers willing to take their place and WORK for a living.

[/quote]

I got a lot more money on my paid holidays than I do in retirement. A big difference.

[Chancer]

[quote user="AnOther"]Diesel almost indefinitely, petrol for as long as you'd practically want to hold a stock of it I'd say.

The more 'E' sh1te in it the more likely it is to go off (or so it's claimed) but kept well sealed I still think you'd be counting in low years rather than weeks or months.

You don't want to get our American cousins going on the subject though because you wouldn't believe the extraordinary lengths some of them go to just to put a car to bed for a few weeks or months over the Winter and the 'gas going off' seems to head the list almost every time with some believing it will happen over that sort of period.

Challenge them to define 'going off' is usually a fun game though always remembering that it's the nation which not only elected Trump but have allowed him to survive even this long !

[/quote]

 

Ask them about the strategic reserves of road and aviation fuel, there are some bunkers close to my place in the UK where the fuel has not been used since the Suez crisis.

 

As you say, in a sealed container they will last indefinitely.

[DerekJ]

We're still trying to decide when to come over and looking at one of the maps (linked to earlier in this thread) it looks like the problems aren't resolved and supplies are still interrupted. From one update it looked like the unions had met with the minister and "nothing concrete" had come out it and they were threatening to intensify their actions this coming week.  It still doesn't sound like a recipe for a nice journey/stay.

[lindal1000]

No problems with fuel shortages this way. (Dordogne).

We bought some on Thursday..no queues, no closed pumps