The French government has warned energy workers that they are going to have to come to an agreement with their employers and end their strikes “without delay,” or the government will be forced to intervene in the dispute in order to end the fuel shortages occurring throughout the country.

French government spokesman Olivier Veran said in an interview with RTL radio, “The strike has stretched for too long and has consequences. There are still territories in France where gas stations operate normally, but fuel demand is high and it creates a problem… I completely side with our residents and motorists and I tell them this: The government is calling for all the blockages to be lifted without delay, otherwise we will be forced to intervene – in other words, to end the strikes ourselves.”

He added that the government would be forced to,  “reopen access to fuel depots and refineries, and then requisition the appropriate personnel” to resume production, if the situation did not resolve itself, “very quickly.”

For two weeks, unions representing workers at TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil’s Esso France have been striking over unmet union demands. The unions are calling for a pay raise which would help to offset the cost of living crisis being produced by higher energy prices, as well as a profit-sharing arrangement giving them some share of the windfall profits being made the companies due to the soaring prices of fuels.

France has been wracked by shortages of fuels across the country that were produced by the strikers blockading fuel storage depots and refineries. Over the weekend, 30% of gas stations across the country reported shortages of at least one type of fuel. In some areas, massive lines for gas have had to pass through Police checkpoints, where officers would check fuel gauges, and turn away potential customers who they determined had too much fuel in their gas tanks.

Veran reported that the workers at Esso now lack “any reason” to strike, since the company’s management has been able to come to an agreement with the unions during negotiations on Monday.

At TotalEnergies, the workers are presently operating under the tail end of an already negotiated contract. They are making demands for amending it to include increased pay. The company has offered to move up the date of upcoming talks on the new contract to be negotiated, from mid-November to now, however the union has stated it will continue its strike until the increased wages are provided. Veran referred to this as, “excessive and abnormal.”

He estimated it will take roughly 15 days for regions afflicted by fuel shortage to return to “normal functioning” once the refineries and storage depots resume their normal operations.