France fuel blockade to ease

Farmers are blocking the main route to the Channel Tunnel

France's main lorry drivers' union, the FNTR, says it is calling off its five-day blockade of oil installations.

The announcement followed overnight talks at the Transport Ministry, as protests over soaring fuel prices continue to cause massive disruption across France.

"Work will start again, business life will resume," said FNTR president Rene Petit.

French farmers, who are blocking the main road to the Channel Tunnel for a second day, have threatened to take over the blockades if the lorry drivers pull out.

And a smaller truckers' union, Unostra, says it will continue its protest action.

Some 80% of French petrol stations are reported to be out of action and French airports are beginning to cancel internal flights because of serious fuel shortages.

The lorry drivers have been pressing for a cut in the fuel tax applied in France - the second highest in the 15-nation European Union. Oil prices have soared to their highest level since the 1991 Gulf War.

Channel Tunnel chaos

There was traffic chaos at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, as farmers blocked the A16 Paris-Calais motorway with their tractors. Police organised a diversion for tunnel-bound traffic, but there were long tailbacks.

Meanwhile, the head of the taxi drivers' union, which joined the protests on Thursday, said there had been a compromise. They agreed to a 4.5% increase in the prices they are allowed to charge, starting next month.

But the General-Secretary of the French Farmers' Union, Yves Salmon, told the BBC that he expected the farmers' protests to spread, and "they are still determined".

"The farmers have suffered a steep decrease in their revenues," he said.

Fuel rationing

Since the French protests began on Monday, the authorities have been forced to introduce fuel rationing in many areas.

At two regional airports - Nantes and Rennes - the fuel tanks are dry, while supplies are low at Nice, Lyon and Marseilles.

Protests against fuel prices have also spread to Britain, where farmers and lorry drivers are staging a demonstration at an oil refinery near Liverpool in north-west England.

There have also been protests in Spain, while in Italy, the transport minister has invited lorry drivers' representatives to discuss the crisis.

And in Finland the Finance Ministry is to present a proposal to cut the tax on diesel fuel.

A British mother in the massive traffic jams caused by the protests

EU deadline

France says it is to respond later on Friday to a European Commission demand for information about the extent of the blockades at frontier crossings, Channel ports and oil depots and refineries.

The Commission wrote to Paris on Thursday reminding France of its EU obligations to ensure the free movement of goods.

The dispute has caused rifts within the French coalition government, as the Green Party regards any reduction in fuel taxes as damaging to the environment.