French workers strike disrupts trade U.S. crude oil was cut off to France for the first time in four years

U.
S.
crude cannot be exported to France for the first time in four years because worker strikes in France disrupt normal trade flows, and some oil exports are being diverted to Denmark and Italy
.

Amid soaring inflation, French workers staged protests demanding higher wages, which hampered the operation
of major refineries.
The chaos in the country's energy sector means including ExxonMobil (XOM.
US) and Total (TTE.
US) and others have been forced to cut or suspend local operations
.
Typically, demand is stable in French plants, which produce crude oil and process it into fuels
such as gasoline.

So far this month, no U.
S.
crude has been shipped to French ports
, the data showed.
Vortexa analyst Rohit Russod believes that if this situation continues, it will be the first time
since September 2018 that France will not be able to import US oil smoothly.

Ironically, supply disruptions could exacerbate the inflation, which led French workers to strike
.
Ahead of the European Commission's next round of sanctions against Russia in December, most countries in the region are rushing to secure oil supplies, which could mean further disruptions
to energy trade flows to the continent.
U.
S.
oil imports have been one of the main sources of
alternative supply.

Lassode said most of the U.
S.
oil that doesn't reach France is diverted to other European destinations
.
Including Denmark and Italy
.