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But in a sign of the growing pressure on the government, PM Manuel Valls said the labour reforms at the heart of the dispute could be "modified".
Motorists have been panic buying fuel, some petrol stations struggled to get supplies.
France is due to host the Euro 2016 championships in two weeks time.
Union disruption was expected to take place at:

• Sixteen of Frances 19 nuclear power stations
• Six of Frances eight oil refineries, already hit by strikes and barricades
• The ports of Marseille and Le Havre among others

Orly airport in Paris has cut flights by 15% and a rolling strike by train drivers is expected to further disrupt regional and commuter services.
The unions have also called for rallies in most major cities.

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CGT union member at nuclear power plants voted on Wednesday to join the strike.
Nuclear power provides about 75% of the countrys electricity. Grid operator RTE said nuclear power capacity was being cut by at least four gigawatts - equivalent to 6% of the countrys total production capacity - on Thursday, Reuters news agency reports.
Meanwhile, the French Union of Petroleum Industries says a third of Frances 12,000 petrol stations are running dry.
It said the government had begun using its strategic fuel reserves, which analysts say will last around four months.
Transport Minister Alain Vidalies has said 40% of petrol stations around Paris are struggling to get fuel.
President Francois Hollande told ministers on Wednesday that "everything will be done to ensure the French people and the economy is supplied".

 

As the union action ramped up on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Valls said that although the new labour laws would not be withdrawn, "there may still be changes, improvements".
There has been no reaction from the CGT union, which has led the way with the action.
It was enraged by the governments decision to use a constitutional device allow its watered-down labour reforms to be made into law without parliamentary approval.
The government says the reforms, which make it easier for companies to hire and fire staff, are needed to bring down unemployment.