CGT strike blocks fuel shipments at three TotalEnergies refineries in France
Shipments are blocked at refineries in Normandy, Donges and La Mède on Thursday 8 October 2026. The CGT says over 50% of workers are striking, while TotalEnergies puts participation below 2% and says supplies continue through other logistics.
Shipments blocked at three sites
Employees of TotalEnergies began blocking fuel shipments on the morning of Thursday 8 October 2026 at refineries in Normandy near Le Havre, at Donges in Loire-Atlantique, and at the La Mède bio-refinery in the Bouches-du-Rhône. The blocking began at dawn, and the action follows a national call by the CGT that covers the whole group. The union frames the strike as a movement for jobs and wages. Éric Sellini, the CGT coordinator for the group, told AFP that shipments at these sites are affected.
The shipments will be stopped, or are already stopped.
The company does not dispute the blocking of shipments. It says the group continues to supply its service station network and its customers through its other logistics means. Management in Paris said pipeline shipments continue.
Contested strike figures
The CGT says more than 50% of workers on duty at the affected sites are on strike. TotalEnergies management puts strike participation below 2% across all its refineries and bio-refineries. At Donges, the CGT counted 60% strikers on the morning shift and 52% on the afternoon shift. Sébastien Gélard, the CGT general secretary at the site, said the units keep running but the refinery will ship nothing today.
There will be no product leaving the refinery today.
Gélard described stoppages lasting "between two hours and the full day". The strike is planned for 24 hours, and work is due to resume normally on Friday morning.
- Morning shift
- 60 %
- Afternoon shift
- 52 %
Staffing and pay demands
The majority union at Donges says it is mobilising for employment and working conditions. The CGT describes staffing as "under pressure", citing unreplaced departures, a "massive" use of temporary workers, repeated fixed-term contracts and subcontracting, with consequences for safety. At Donges, the site has 300 staff on three-shift rotations, and 15% are temporary or precarious workers. Gélard told AFP that the first demand is employment.
The first demand is employment, there is a constant shortage of staff.
The union demands the hiring of all temporary workers, vacancies filled by TotalEnergies permanent contracts, a raise of 200 euros per month for everyone, and a minimum base salary of 1.2 times the Smic. It says wages are stagnating and in some group subsidiaries are being caught up by the Smic. Management announced a 1,000 euro advance on the annual bonus, with the total to be discussed in December during annual wage negotiations, but the CGT kept its strike call.
Backdrop and next steps
The group reported first-half net profit of 11.2 billion dollars, about 10 billion euros, up 73% on a year earlier. The strike comes amid logistical difficulties linked to the war in the Middle East and the group's capping of fuel pump prices, which has caused a rush of motorists to its stations. The CGT says 27 Argedis service stations were closed because of the strike, while management says 11, out of about 180 Argedis stations and 3,300 across the group.
- CGT count
- 27 stations
- Management count
- 11 stations
