There have been long queues in France at petrol stations across the country as fuel shortages start to kick in.

A sharp fall in refinery output over the last week due to protests over government labour law reforms prompted panic on Saturday as drivers rushed to fill up their tanks as a precaution.

One woman outside a petrol station in Saint Nazaire said: “I arrived at 8:10am and I’ve been waiting for half an hour.’‘

Asked how much she wanted she said: ‘‘Twenty litres, we don’t have the right to get anymore.”

Another man waiting to buy fuel said: “To wait half an hour is not too long, it’s OK… sooner or later there won’t be any more fuel left.”

On Friday, oil workers at three of Total’s major refineries voted to halt output, while another was blocked by protesters. Nearly one petrol station in five is run by the French energy giant. Several of Total’s oil depots were also reportedly disrupted.

In 2010, prolonged strikes at French refineries saw thousands of petrol stations run out of fuel.

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