France nationwide strike amid fuel shortage tensions

France braced for nationwide transport strike action as the government and unions remained in deadlock over walkouts at oil depots that have sparked fuel shortages.

Leading unions have called for strikes in their biggest challenge yet to President Emmanuel Macron since he won a new presidential term in May.

The move comes after workers at several refineries and depots operated by energy giant TotalEnergies voted to extend their strike action, defying the government which has begun to force staff back on the job.

Motorists scrambled to fill tanks as the fuel strike, which has lasted for nearly three weeks, cripples supplies at just over 30 percent of France's service stations.

The government, increasingly impatient with the striking workers, said it was forcing key staff back to work.

The government said it would begin requisitioning workers at the Feyzin depot in southeastern France, having already employed the same strategy at the Mardyck depot in the north of the country.

Fuel workers voted to continue stoppages at several refineries run by TotalEnergies, the coordinator for the hard-left CGT union Eric Sellini said, rejecting a pay package agreed between the group's management and mainstream unions.

Three out of seven of the country's oil refineries and five major fuel depots (out of around 200) are affected, the government said.

A return to normal supply conditions at petrol stations will take at least two weeks after strikes end, the government has warned.