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Striking oil refinery employees at the Esso oil refinery in southern France were ordered on Thursday to return to work as the country is currently experiencing one of its worst episodes in fuel shortages, threatening to cripple the economy once more, sources reported.  

The government first issued the requisition for oil refinery workers on Tuesday and then extended it for two additional days on Thursday.

Fuel supplies in gas stations are reported to have reached record-breaking low levels as the Fos-sur-Mer refinery in the Bouches-du-Rhone department has been left inoperable, BFMTV reported.  

About 37 percent of the 2,000 gas stations located in the Bouches-du-Rhone are reported to be empty, the broadcaster said.

The Energy Ministry has also announced earlier today that jet fuel is currently standing at "critical" levels in airports in the northern Ile-de-France and Normandy regions.

Refineries all across the nation have been on rolling strikes for the past 14 days. Workers of all industries have been protesting against the government's highly unpopular pension reform which would raise the age of retirement to 64.

Acting on French President Emmanuel Macron's instructions, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne invoked an article in the constitution a week ago to adopt the reform without a parliamentary vote.

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Earlier today, sources reported that French unions staged a new day of disruption against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform after he defiantly vowed to implement the change.

Protests were planned across the country, in the latest day of nationwide stoppages that began in mid-January against the pension changes.

Some 12,000 police, including 5,000 in Paris, were to be deployed throughout the day, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has highlighted.

Macron on Wednesday said he was prepared to accept unpopularity because the bill raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 was "necessary" and "in the general interest of the country."

In the early morning, protesters blocked road access to Terminal 1 at the capital's Charles de Gaulle airport, French television pictures showed.

Paris airport Charles de Gaulle occupied, roads blocked,
also Beltways around Toulouse and Chambery blocked

It’s Thursday morning and there’s more to come https://t.co/ze9FKqzS9e pic.twitter.com/jhlw48u9iZ

— Timothy Robert (@timingnl) March 23, 2023

Half of all high-speed trains were canceled, national railway operator SNCF indicated, after union sources reported around a third of staff would be striking. At least half the trains into Paris from the suburbs were not running.

Paris municipal garbage collectors have pledged to uphold a rolling strike until Monday, as thousands of tonnes of rubbish remain in the streets.

Read more: France's Constitutional Council mulling passing pension reform