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President Sarkozy was elected on a platform of fixing the French economy, pension reform being a key component of his policies. Analysts are saying that if the reform bill is not carried through then Sarkozy will appear weak and his reputation will be diminished considerably. However the crisis is spreading throughout France and the worker’s unions are gaining more and more support. Police had to resort to firing tear gas in the suburbs of Paris, where groups of young people were vandalizing the streets and setting fire to cars. However the police have been told to handle the situation carefully so as to not make it worse than it already is.

Michel Edouard Leclerc, the CEO of the Leclerc chain of French supermarkets, told reporters that his company’s petrol stations would be dry within a matter of days if the blockade continued. Meanwhile people have been panic buying petrol in anticipation of this leading to a sharp increase in the price of petrol. To make matters worse the strike are set to increase, with truck drivers purposely driving slowly along the motorways around large cities such as Paris, Lille and Lyon. Meanwhile flights in and out of Paris’s main Orly airport are being cancelled.

There have already been demonstrations outside 261 schools last week, with entrances being blockaded and students even clashing with police. The French government is now trying to get the nation back on its feet and maintain a business as usual approach, with the interior and economy ministries as well as the energy and environment departments working to try and prevent any damage to the French economy. “The government is in control. There will be no blockade for companies, no blockade for transport and no blockade for road users,” Industry Minister Christian Estrosi told French journalists.

The French Petrol Industries Association, assured people the fuel situation was not yet at complete crisis point, yet if things continue the French nation could very well find itself in a bad place. All eyes are now on President Sarkozy to see how he will diffuse the situation.

프랑스 주유소 파업

최근 프랑스 정부가 은퇴 나이를 올린 연금 제도 개혁으로 전국적으로 파업을 초래하며 많은 사람들을 화나게 하고 있다. 경찰과 시위자들은 자동차들이 불타오르는 가운데 충돌했고 현재 파업이 주유소가 고갈되는 것을 야기했다.

시위자들은 일주일 넘게 정유 공장을 봉쇄했는데 이는 프랑스의 주유소 25%가 영향 받았다고 평가하는 결과를 낳았다. 결과적으로 프랑스 대통령 니콜라스 사르코지는 공급을 보호하는 방법을 계산하기 위해 그의 내각과 만나는 것을 위기라 칭했다. 그럼에도 불구하고 그는 기자들에게 논란이 많은 연금의 개혁이 요구되고 이 제도의 패배를 인정하지 않을 거라고 말했다.

국제에너지기구에서 프랑스가 비상 석유 비축을 이용하는 것을 시작했다고 보고했기 때문에 지금까지 운전자들은 파리와 프랑스 남서쪽 브르타뉴에서 휘발유를 찾아다니는 어려움을 겪었다. 파업을 하고 폐쇄된 창고에 출입하려는 프랑스의 주요 12곳 정유공장의 근로자들과 프랑스의 에너지 상황을 희망적으로 보지 않는다.