Blockades kick off lorry driver protests

HGV drivers are taking part in a series of blockades and go-slow protests to express their anger at President Emmanuel Macron's labour reforms.

Unions fear the reforms will lead to more redundancies with drivers bearing the brunt of weaker protections. They are also concerned about changes in the law that allow employers to negotiate terms and conditions on a company scale.

The protests kicked off overnight when an estimated 100 vehicles stopped in a 1km queue along part of the A22 motorway a few hundred metres from the border with Belgium.

Organisers from the CGT and FO unions have said they will step up their protests throughout the day, with blockades set to spring up near fuel depots and important logistics centres.

Lorry drivers were planning to block oil depots at Dunkirk from 5am today - but were prevented by a large police presence. They instead began distributing leaflets at a nearby roundabout.

Menanwhile, picket lines have been set up at Le Havre, Rouen, Caen, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Marseille, Lyon and Nantes, according to several CGT and FO officials.

On Saturday, the government temporarily relaxed rules on driving times for tanker drivers to maintain fuel supply levels.