Some 1,500 petrol stations out of a total of 12,000 across France have either run out of petrol or are close to running dry, said Transport Minister Alain Vidalies.
 
France's hard-line CGT and FO unions toughened their stance against labor market reforms on Monday by launching a strike at oil and LNG terminals, and blockading a fuel depot in the southern port city of Marseille.
 
“Five out of eight French refineries are on strike, at a halt or in the process of shutting down” an official from the CGT union, Emmanuel Lepine, told AFP.
 
The rolling strikes, which began in March and have gathered pace in recent weeks, have disrupted fuel supplies in France since Friday with protesting workers blockading petrol depots and halting production at refineries.
 
Oil sector workers in the CGT, which is France's biggest trade union, and at the third biggest FO, said on Monday they planned to intensify the action until the government withdraws the labor reform law which they say will hurt workers.
 
As part of efforts to force the government to withdraw the bill, the union launched a strike at the Fos-Lavera oil terminals on Monday.
 
“No ship is operating at the installations” Pascal Galéoté, CGT Secretary General at Marseille port told Reuters.
 
A similar prolonged strike at French refineries in 2010 led to a glut of crude in Europe because it could not be delivered, and a spike in refined product prices due to low output.
 
The French government has moved to reassure the public that France was not running out of fuel after shortages at hundreds of petrol stations in several regions sparked panic buying.
 
Finance Minister Michel Sapin accused CGT of holding France hostage, saying the government would take the necessary action to end the blockades and restart production at refineries.
 
Labour reforms “will be passed” said Manuel Valls. He was defiant about the labor market reforms. “The labor law will go to the end of its parliamentary passage” he told BFMTV.