After the best part of a week the fuel shortage issue in France has been picked up by some of the UK media albeit in small print.
I was planning to go tomorrow, but with a 500 mile trip and a 500 mile range I have postponed and will wait until the strikers see sense or the government sends in the army.
Of course it wouldn't have come to this if France had been in the EU . . . oh, hang on a minute ..yes they are.
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Here's a report an the bbc
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36358300
can't say I'd heard about it until you posted about it. Seems to be part of a labour law dispute.
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I hadn't heard either and I will be off to France in a few weeks, thanks for posting.
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Leaving tomorrow am for Dieppe from the the south 884km - filled up on Saturday because of rumblings about shortages. Might just about make it if I stick to 56mph - but will feel a lot happier if I can 10L into the car before Clermont Ferrand.
A75 has apparently no fuel but will be looking at on off towns to try to get some.
The petrol can is full! so i mayy throw the petrol away so I have an empty container.
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Is Mike ?? from the Limoges area still an active member on this forum?
I could possibly divert via there if he could get me 10L or so?
MODS could you email him and pass on my email address if possible.
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Artificial shortages engineered by trade union men. No one can blame them. They feel things are getting desperate.
I've worked in union shops and in the opposite, for a South London minicab firm. Individuals are OK in both cases but the system never is.
Are there still union shops of that reassuring old-fashioned sort? I hope so.
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"No one can blame them. They feel things are getting desperate."
You surprise me Armel. The french strike at the proverbial drop of un chapeau. This time it's about trying to reject the president's attempts to bring working hours and conditions somewhere close to those worked by the rest of workers in the western economy.
The strikers won't have it, are blocking motorways with lorries and are burning tyres at the entrance to refineries. The police, who usually are in sympathy with the workers, being "workers" themselves simply stand by and watch.
The french need a good dose of modernisation.
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>> The french need a good dose of modernisation.
Oh, ah, I see.
Will it really do the trick though Dulwich? It's true the French need a touch of the lash from time to time.
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>>This
>> time it's about trying to reject the president's attempts to bring working hours and conditions
>> somewhere close to those worked by the rest of workers in the western economy.
So because happens in the US and has been imposed in the UK where unions are emasculated the French should just roll over too?
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I'm off to Paris region on Sunday. Luckily the Transporter has a tank that is plenty big enough for the return trip, should the need arise (although it would have been nice to fill up with nice cheap French gazole).
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Not over there for another month; but does anyone know if it's also affecting Belgium? We're riding up from Calais to Breda, then back down to Sancerre after the weekend. If this is still going on might have to bin the Fench trip and just go to Breda.
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The nice lady I spoke to on the phone at P&O Customer Services was based in Calais. I needed to confirm cancellation / amendment details. She said the fuel availability situation in northern France was indeed pretty bad, but fortunately she lived close to the Belgian border and filled up there with no problem at all.
It may be the EU and all, but Belgium is not France so you'll be fine there.
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>> It may be the EU and all, but Belgium is not France so you'll be
>> fine there.
>>
Thanks for that. May have to re-think the second half of the trip (Breda-Sancerre-Calais) if it continues though. The old side-valve, which I'm taking, only has a range of about 100 miles between refills; even the big Electraglide will only manage about 200.
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Good point Brompt divide and conquer but not the French you've got to admire them for that.
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Report from Guardian on latest events:
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/24/french-police-water-cannon-strikers-marseille-fos-sur-mer
And some background to the legislation that's kicked this off:
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/10/francois-hollande-pushes-through-labour-bill-with-special-decree
A Socialist President using dictatorial powers bequeathed by DeGaulle to weaken labour protections.....
You couldn't make it up.
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>> Is Mike ?? from the Limoges area still an active member on this forum?
>> MODS could you email him and pass on my email address if possible.
Could you narrow this down a bit and give us a clue as to which Mike you're referring to?
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Well I did think it might be him, but we can't go passing someone's email address onto the wrong person.
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Yes, I am still a member but not what you'd call active.
To be honest, I don't think diverting in this direction is a good idea. People often don't realise what a big place France is. Limoges (I live west of it) is 2.5-3 hours due west of Clermont by either a slow N(141) route or a long motorway diversion and, no matter how it's done, isn't worth it for 10 litres or so. Also, most service stations will not now allow the filling of cans - in some areas it's subject to a decree from the department or regional council. Best to press on south by the most direct route, take it easy and find what you can on the way, I reckon. I have, in fact, put off a UK run this week until the situation is clearer, partly because I don't really believe what the French say, on either side. At the moment the whole thing seems to be a lottery - good luck with it.
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By way of an update, some stations in this (Limousin) area now have no diesel and my local supermarket is using automatic pumps only, after putting the price up 10 cents a litre before it ran out. Le Figaro says that in the Eure, between Paris and Le Havre, automatic pumps have been banned from use, so it's even more of a free-for-all.
Incidentally, I wonder how many people know that when an automatic pump says you can put in up to say 120 euros in fuel it may mean that this maximum amount is actually 'ring-fenced' by your bank until the appropriate genuine payment is cleared, possibly some days later. So, if you fill up three times over a weekend at automatic pumps on a long journey you can find that hundreds of euros/pounds in your account are suddenly not accessible - which you don't discover until your card is refused in somewhere like a shop or restaurant. I'm not sure a lot of people realise this can happen.
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M****. I hope (for purely selfish reasons) this gets sorted out by July when I drive to Vendee via Calais.
I wonder how big a jerry can you're allowed in the boot?
I shall certainly now plan to do the journey in the diesel SAAB (500 miles per tank min) rather than the petrol Mazda (325 miles per tank).
(Oh la la, ze swear filter, she speaks French!)
Last edited by: Alanović on Tue 24 May 16 at 16:17
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It's certainly screwed up my plans: I've got an order of made to measure woodwork due in a week or so and planned visit from the 'gasman'.
Will they have fuel, will they even turn up. If this situation is not soon resolved I'll be cancelling all that too.
Bl&&dy French Strikers !
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Oh la la, ze swear filter, she speaks French!
Let's see how well.
Putain!
Auvergne via Calais for us this year. Should be comfortably doable on one LEC tank, although we'll still have to get home in August.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Tue 24 May 16 at 18:25
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That's the problem. Getting there, wherever it may be, is likely doable with a full tank of UK sourced fuel. It's the getting back. Even it's available it could mean 3 or 4 stops of a couple of hours queing at a time on the way home.
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>> Let's see how well.
>>
>> Putain!
Is there nothing we can't blame on the Russians? Chyort vozmi.
;-)
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A friend currently on the road (or not, as the case may be!) around Albi in the Midi-Pyrénées tells me there's no diesel to be had there either...
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...reports on another forum I frequent were that there was a lot in the Lot........
....but that was yesterday...
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There's a good piece by Hugh Schofield on the BBC News website.
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www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36378885
Doesn't sound as if it will resolve very quickly.
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I've done something pretty stupid I was supposed to go to Spain via SNCF but I was due to be in Paris on a day of a major strike and also a day of ATC strike meaning I had no flexibility to make alternative arrangements if I missed a train due to a delay.
So I booked the journey with a UK coach operator instead. This morning I was reading an article that the fuel situation is easing, but it seems this is anything but the case from the French media I have been reading.
My journey back is on the 14th. I can get a partial refund for all my railway tickets, and have booked a UK coach company, they took my booking today knowing about the fuel issues. I am hoping the situation will ease next week, there is supposed to be talks this Friday and petrol stations are getting deliveries. My logic is if we get stranded at least it will be with a load of other British holiday makers.
Somebody sooner or later will need to give in, I am not sure what my tour company will do, if fuel does run out in France they may have to cancel it, but I assume they would have to refund it.
I will of course still loose a small fortune in hotel bookings.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 25 May 16 at 17:08
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Stop worrying. It will all be sorted in a few days.
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Yep - it'll all blow over by 14th July. Neither side will want their own summer holiday plans jeopardised. They'll put their differences aside for a couple of months and kick off again in September. Priorities, see...
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>> if we get stranded at least it will be with a load of other
>> British holiday makers.
Which level of Dante's hell is that?
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I am going next Friday not July, my journey back was the 14th of June, the day of a big strike. I still have the train tickets and have till tomorrow to get a 75% refund on them. The problem is even if it is sorted in the next few days the delays will have a knock on effect on the time it takes for the coaches to get back to the UK.
I don't know what to do, I feel like I have just spent a fortune swapping one problem to another . If I get the train tickets canceled I should get £130 back, and I cna pay £30 to re-arrange the Eurostar tickets. If my coach company decides it has to cancel next Friday they will refund me the money no doubt but I have still lost over £200 in hotels when the trains may have been running in the first place.
All this uncertainty and anxiety is making me ill, but I suppose if the worst comes to the worse I have just a few £250 and can use my spending money to spend a few days on the south coast since my train to London is already booked and can't get a refund on that.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 26 May 16 at 12:20
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A mate in France said it seems to be easing today and he predicts it will be resolved by Monday. It's all guesswork though...
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Well you've laid out now, I'd be hoping that one or the other will work and hang on to the tickets. You've bought a bit of insurance, that's all.
You could just make it into a bigger loss by cancelling stuff and Sod's law says you would.
The last time I planned around a tube strike they called it off.
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I don't envy you international autobhan stormers, I did the weekly fill up while Mrs ON was doing the food shop this morning. I just missed the post school run mums topping up their tractors and had a choice of pumps to use, decisions, decisions.
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Ah, but did you put the correct fuel in it ON? I gather you old timers sometimes get confused by these things...
;-))
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Not a problem at the moment, but after almost 40 years of diesel driving without a missfuel the next car will be petrol powered. That will require some concentration! At least it won't have a cow wee tank to add to the confusion. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 26 May 16 at 13:16
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I find looking at the price concentrates the mind.
;-)
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Have decided to keep hold of the tickets for the 5th but go with the UK coach tour company unless the fuel situation still exists. Because of ATC strikes if I miss my Eurostar in London I will have zero flexibility because Eurostar prices will be through the rough.
The great thing about coach travel although it is hell when things go wrong, it is their pocket it will hurt and not mine. Looking at it like an insurance policy helps :).
At this is now the third time I have had problems travelling through France my next big holiday will be touring the south coast of the UK again.
I would have just got the UK tour company to bring me back but they said unless I book both ways they would unless sell me a ticket on the return journey once I was in Spain because then they will know if there is any spare seats.
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R&S >>>All this uncertainty and anxiety is making me ill, <<<
You need to live on the edge - you are youngish and fit? Just go travelling and take whatever life throws at you.
It is only France and Spain. You can drink the water and the natives dont bite.
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Too true, back in the dark ages, we used to backpack around Europe for weeks on end with just a few quid in our pockets, no credit cards or travellers cheques, no booked accommodation, no booked travel, no mobile phones, get casual work in bars or whatever when we needed money and spent everything we had to spare on scuba diving trips. We'd get cheap rooms or sleep on a beach if we were skint. Great times, great adventures and many good friends made.
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Sorry for the delay in updating - my tablet went flat and refused to charge properly - followed by an hotel wifi that worked in the early evening but had gone off line by the following morning.
Mike Hannon thanks for your comments - my alternative route would have taken me on the long diagonal from Millau - Rodez- Brive - Limoges. Just in case you had a bowser of gasoil stored at the bottom of the garden :)
As things turned out despite the media (French) that said the A75 A71 had no fuel - it was a typical gross misrepresentation. plenty of fuel both between Blois and Chartres and north of Rouen
I managed to fill up with about 20L at Lozere Aire (Northbound) on Tues am. It looked deserted and I assumed at first there was no fuel. But after a cup of coffee I realised that a car was standing at the (all auto) pumps and filling! Very few cars North bound - I then made the decision that since I was full at that point I would have enough fuel for a leisurely trip to Dieppe ensuring that I had enough to get me to Calais/Dunkirk in the event that Dieppe had been blockaded.
Spent an additional 24 hours (wed) on the coast near Fecamp - I would estimate that about 50% of stations were open with fuel available but some with longish queues. Back by Ferry to Newhaven on Thursday midday.
I squeezed 67mpg true out of the Berlingo for the motorway sections - but once I neared the channel I reveted to type and consumption went up to about 63mpg for the elapsed 505miles.
At least I have shown that I can make it down on a single tank if I absolutely have to.
Not sure how things stand now, but as of Thursday am I would not have encouraged any Brits to stay at home.
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Contacts in the Le Mans area are reporting that it is not as serious as the press are saying.
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>> Contacts in the Le Mans area are reporting that it is not as serious as
>> the press are saying.
The press exaggerating?? Say it ain't so.
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Doesn't look good at the moment:
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36385778
Report states "The French government is under increasing pressure to give ground as the country prepares to host the Euro 2016 championships in two weeks' time", so perhaps things will be sorted by then?
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Today is the day of a national strike in France, so today will affect things more than any other day. I checked the grid output before and France are still selling around 5% of their electricity grid output to the UK, so if they were worried about power supply problems they wouldn't be doing that!
There has been lots of other trikes too, but a lot of them have been waning but today is a big all out strike. How did the government let the unions get this powerful? I hate Thatcher and everything she stood for but she had the right idea about the unions (sorry Billy Bragg!)
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 26 May 16 at 13:50
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>> Report states "The French government is under increasing pressure to give ground as the
>> country prepares to host the Euro 2016 championships in two weeks' time", so perhaps things
>> will be sorted by then?
>>
totally unexpected coincidence having the strike at this time, no connection with the proximity of the football at all :-)
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Just been informed by the coach company that they tried a run from Dover to Spain on Monday without filling up in France and they managed to get all the way to Spain without having to fill up. It seems even on a coach the 790 litre tanks go a long way!
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Today's Daily Telegraph states that spare fuel is limited to 5 litres by many ferry companies due to fire risk, but that ferry cancellations are taking place in any case. It quotes the Paris office of the AA which says there has been a 40% increase in fuel-related callouts since last weekend.
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I think the ferry strikes were just yesterday as it was the day of a national strike.
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>> Report states "The French government is under increasing pressure to give ground as the country
>> prepares to host the Euro 2016 championships in two weeks' time", so perhaps things will
>> be sorted by then?
>>
Unions holding government to ransom? How typically French!
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>> Unions holding government to ransom? How typically French!
>>
Used to be typically British as well. Part of my younger years I don't particularly miss.
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Maybe they copied us? When the "Sick man of Europe" charge against us was at its strongest, French workers seemed already to be inspired by "Red Robbo" and would down tools at the drop of a hat.
This particular dispute arises from the new El Khoumri Law, introducing sweeping reforms of labour regulation to make business operations more flexible. A result would be that it became easier to sack workers. Overtime in addition to the 35-hours statutory working week would be restricted and redundancy pay reduced. The Law also incorporates a "disconnection right" allowing employers to stop time-wasting electronic messages to workers.
The position becomes more serious as the main unions are also working on disputes with the national railways (SNCF) and the Paris region transport system (RATP). At the same time, there are serious problems with parts of the country's nuclear generation system. All of this plus the Euro Cup problem probably mean that France is paying very little attention to Brexit just now.
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Just had a chat to the coach company as they have messed up my booking (but fixed it now) and they have said that petrol stations in Dover are now starting to run dry but hopefully they can get extra deliveries to cope. He also said the mood in France is that the fuel situation will get better.
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I think the app depends on a data connection which some may not have, but it does appear to cover Spain too. Also I think it's reporting on price, not availability, although maybe if somewhere has no petrol it doesn't have a price (it does also depend on Joe Publique for updates).
Having said that. I'll be off to France in a few weeks so have installed it. thanks.
Someone on another forum recommended play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cremarenco.essencepaschere whiuch does something similar.
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According to last night's BBC news the roads in France are clear and fuel is becoming available again-tho' not yet everywhere.
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Right then.
5 litre proper fuel can in the boot, tyres at 35psi, top up near Dover and we're off - albeit 5 days later than planned.
It did cost £20 for the P&O Ferries sailing amendment though.
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Thanks, I'll bookmark them in my phone. I tried to download the App, but something comes up about it not knowing where I am and I can't go further with it.
By the way, the M20 Services at Maidstone are now out of fuel ! Reported on TV and by a mate of mine.
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I'm in Normandy - La Haye du Puits - and there is no shortage of fuel. I filled up at the local Intermarché this afternoon. No queues with just a few customers. There are signs on the pumps saying no filling of cans.
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I am still worried about my journey on Friday. Althoug I at the moment the fuel situation in France is getting back to normal, this is annoying the unions and they are now threatening to block ports etc.
I consider myself left wing, but while I wasn't around in 1977 the actions that year just ended up creating a government which meant a lot of people who were striking ending up loosing their jobs and houses etc. The French could do with learning that strict labour laws don't create jobs. I am however completely against zero hours contracts etc, and maybe the the French are worried that every job over there will be like working for Sports Direct or an Amazon depot.
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I am still worried...
Really, Rats? That's not like you.
};---)
Just check that your insurance covers you for additional expenses due to disruption or delay. If the operators you've booked with aren't telling you not to travel, you'll be fine.
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The fuel situation around here has eased but, as I understand it, it is because distribution depots have been unblocked and strategic fuel supplies released. Six out of eight refineries are still either not working or on low capacity, with more strikes to come. I think it's called 'kicking the can down the road'.
My friend in Bordeaux is dangerously ill and I want to see him. I am consulting train timetables - if I can avoid the strikes...
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Incidentally, the local diesel price has gone up 15 cents a litre in a week.
'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite'? In your dreams.
On reflection, it's probably one way of dealing with the looming Eurozone deflation issue...
Last edited by: Mike Hannon on Sun 29 May 16 at 10:06
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>> By the way, the M20 Services at Maidstone are now out of fuel ! Reported
>> on TV and by a mate of mine.
>>
I wonder if this strike has particularly hit European hauliers?
It's been a long-standing gripe in the industry that European lorries come over to Britain, filled to the brim with cheap diesel (you'll probably have noticed the enormous fuel tanks on foreign artics) do as much haulage around the UK as they're allowed to (it's called cabotage and it's steadily killing the British haulage industry) and going back across the Channel without spending a bean over here.
Pat will explain it better than I can but I don't think my basic draft is far off the mark.
Can't say I've noticed any drop in the numbers of foreign artics recently though.
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>>Can't say I've noticed any drop in the numbers of foreign artics recently though.
Most of them probably cross the North Sea from Poland I imagine, so France won't affect them.
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Drove over to Paris today. Took the precaution of filling up just before the Folkestone Tunnel, but needn't have bothered. Every service station on the French autoroute was open for business and no queues. Service completely normal, panic over at the moment.
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>> Drove over to Paris today. Took the precaution of filling up just before the Folkestone
>> Tunnel, but needn't have bothered. Every service station on the French autoroute was open for
>> business and no queues. Service completely normal, panic over at the moment.
>>
Thanks for that. Would appreciate sit-reps on garages off the beaten track if that's possible; I tend to avoid autoroutes on the bike.
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>> >>Can't say I've noticed any drop in the numbers of foreign artics recently though.
>>
>> Most of them probably cross the North Sea from Poland I imagine, so France won't
>> affect them.
>>
It's true that most come from further afield than France, but the majority would, I suspect, still come via Calais or the other French ports to access the UK; and it's generally the case that they'd come over with full tanks to benefit from lower diesel prices over there.
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Contacts I have in different areas of France are reporting no significant problems today.
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Drove out to Epernay today. The one small fuel station we passed in town was open and service completely as normal. Same on the A4. Absolutely service as normal everywhere I have been.
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>> Epernay
Source of the best champagne I seem to remember. Lovely creamy stuff.
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Where is the fuel are coming from if most the refineries are still on strike? Also is there anything stopping the tanker drivers going on strike or are they in a different union to thee CGT that seem to main group or strikers?
There is a port strike on the 2nd, but I assume that won't mean a complete closure of the Calais port?
Just finding it so far to enjoy the the few days before the holiday mood when there is still so much uncertainly. I haven't even got my Euros yet!
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When you first posted I said stop worrying. It will be sorted in a couple of days. Well it has. There Is no longer any problem getting full in France
But have you stopped worrying?
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>> >> Epernay
>>
>>
>> Source of the best champagne I seem to remember. Lovely creamy stuff.
>>
Indeed so!
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Thank you. Will book me ferry tickets on the strength of that.
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Please bear in mind my update above (May 29). To use a famous quote 'this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end but it may be the end of the beginning'.
I reckon the confrontation will continue through June, bearing in mind particularly that refineries are mostly not working still and public transport is due for major disruption, for the maximum impact before holidays begin in July. There will then be a lull before it all kicks off again in September. Cynical? Moi?
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>> There will then be a lull before it all
>> kicks off again in September. Cynical? Moi?
>>
I thought the football started before then? :-)
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Still trying to find out information about the French port strikes on the 2nd, information seems very vague at the moment so I am hoping it won't be an all out strike.
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/31/french-rail-workers-strike-labour-dispute
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I shouldn't worry about the petrol Rattle, Armageddon is already here...
Can you swim?
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36417918
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Since the refineries are either stopped or slowed down, I think that fuel is currently coming from the government's emergency stock. It all depends on the strikers stopping before the strategic stocks run out.
What are the odds?
8o(
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Best transport round here at the moment is a kayak
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Eek! I'm having a Rattly moment about my rail trip next week to Cologne.
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Wish I had just booked a few days in Devon/Cornwall now! The situation in France doesn't look to bad, lots of localised flooding and part of the A10 motorway is shut at Orleans where a river crosses under it but things can change as more rain is coming.
The area near Calais is the most worrying as if that is flooded there is little chance of getting across, although the coach company need to bring people back so they have to make the outgoing journey unless things get a lot worse.
WillDeBeest the rain is supposed to be stopping in the next couple of days, I would check now to see what trains are running to get an idea. Are you going via Eurostar if so don't worry about that as the French strikes are not affecting that. When the tunnel was built there was some agreement but in place about the unions.
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Its a rough old time in France....
www.express.co.uk/news/world/665181/Earthquake-rocks-southwest-France-La-Rochelle-France-earthquake
You're taking your life in your hands Rattle, it'll be an alien landing next.
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"Wish I had just booked a few days in Devon/Cornwall now!"
Its not like Devon or Cornwall have never suffered from flash floods, Rats.
Relax, France is a big country with ample public transport options and plenty of places to stay and things to do for an extra night if the worst came to the worst and you got delayed.
A simple travel insurance policy to cover cancellations and your out of pocket expenses for future trips might be money well spent. The various annual multitrip policies on offer are good value if you plan on making more than one journey in the year.
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Don't worry about the flooding. I hear it's quite easy to find a guy with an inflatable in the Calais area who will get you back to the South coast. Might mean travelling by night though
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I do have travel insurance but in reality I doubt they ever pay out, tried to make a claim last year when my grandma was dying but they got out of it by saying she wasn't a close enough relative.
The flooding does seem to be localised to villages and small towns, apart from the Siene bursting it banks but then happened in Salford over Christmas and it didn't cause much problems.
The coach company have said the flooding didn't affect their journey back to the UK yesterday and today.
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Couldn't do a lot of damage in Salford.............you couldn't tell anyway.
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just back from la rochelle vendee 340 mils up to diepe. in agila , filling up on motorways not a prob. would you pay a toll pay motorway prices drive another 10 miles to turn round . no not really
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How was the weather in the Vendee? I gather bits of France have seen a spot or two of rain this week?
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got back on sunday at 0400 it had rained hard on a couple of nights. overall the weather was just ok. found a couple of lolcal garages that were empty or just allowing 30$. but not having a big enough tank to get home in one fill up,, was a cause of concern
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. found a couple of lolcal garages that were empty
>> or just allowing 30$. but not having a big enough tank to get home in
>> one fill up,, was a cause of concern
>>
I should be OK on the bike then. 30 Euros more than fills the tank. Incidentally, slowdown; did you nitice any evidence of price hikes on a substantial scale?
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France Fuel Shortages - sooty123
