Nuclear power plants in France joined the nationwide industrial action this week, as protests against a controversial labor reform law escalated into more violence.
A spokesperson for French trade union CGT told AFP that 19 refineries had voted to join the strike. At the Gravelines nuclear power station, in the north of France, disgruntled employees burned tires in the road and handed out anti-reform law flyers. Workers also picketed outside the Tricastin nuclear site, in the south of France. Even though production has slowed down, officials were not anticipating any power outages as a result of the industrial action. According to AFP, ten nuclear power stations reported lowered production Thursday.
Earlier in the week, workers went on strike in the country’s oil refineries, triggering a huge fuel shortage. Five of the country’s eight refineries reported slowed down or stalled production Thursday, as reports came in that workers on the French island of Corsica had joined the movement. According to French daily Le Figaro, picketers and members of the CGT barred access to the island’s two oil depots. On Wednesday, the government started dipping into its emergency fuel reserves, using up three of the country’s 115 days of strategic gas reserves.
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