Police broke up a fuel depot blockade in France on Wednesday and France’s hardline CGT union prepared for a strike at a nuclear plant, escalating a standoff over proposed new labour laws.
France has also mobilised its emergency motor fuel stocks for the first time since 2010, a spokeswoman for oil lobby group UFIP said.
Ministers went on radio morning shows to say the government would stand firm, while CGT chief Philippe Martinez told RTL radio that his union, one of the most powerful in France, would press on with its strikes.
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CGT workers have voted for a 24-hour strike starting at 1900 GMT on Wednesday at the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear plant southeast of Paris and workers at other nuclear plants will meet today to decide on possible further strikes, Laurent Langlard, a spokesman for the CGT’s energy federation said.
The union, which he said represents close to half of workers in the sector, voted for a complete halt of production at the Nogent-sur-Seine plant, he said.
UFIP spokeswoman Catherine Enck said “a small quantity” of the government’s emergency stock had been drawn.
Read more at After fuel blockade, French unions threaten nuclear plant walkouts over labour reform
