Around 50 fishermen blocked an oil depot in France's southern port town of Fos-sur-Mer Tuesday to protest rising fuel prices and worsening working conditions, according to broadcaster BFMTV.
The blockade lasted around seven hours before the site was cleared and operations resumed, according to the police prefecture, Anadolu Agency reported.
Tensions briefly flared between fishermen and police during the protest, according to BFMTV.
At the scene, protesters displayed banners reading: “Europe is killing us” and “The EU is sinking our boats and Paris is watching us.”
The protest came as government spokesperson and Minister Delegate for Energy Maud Bregeon addressed rising fuel prices and supply difficulties reported across France in an interview with broadcaster France 2.
"I want to reassure everyone this morning: there is no risk of a shortage, and 90% of service stations are experiencing no supply difficulties. We have a particular issue with stations in the TotalEnergies network," she said.
Bregeon linked the rise in prices to the situation in the Middle East, particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
"What I think needs to be emphasized is that what we are experiencing, what the French people are experiencing … is directly linked to what is happening in the Middle East: the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of crude oil and 20% of gas used to pass,” she said.
Bregeon called for normal conditions to be restored in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the French president was working toward that goal.
