Gilets Jaunes: Reported fuel shortages will not last

Fuel stations in parts of France are starting to report shortages as the gilets jaunes protests bite - but the situation is expected to improve over the coming days as police move in to break up blockades at oil depots.

Motorists have been urged not to panic buy fuel, however. The current situation is not expected to last, officials said, as blockades are being lifted. And the cost of petrol and diesel is expected to fall in the coming days due to plunging prices on the stock market.

Regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi reported on Tuesday that several stations around Toulouse were out of fuel. Expected deliveries did not arrive due to blockades at the nearby Lespinasse depot. Elsewhere in the southwest, in places such as Agen and Castres, fuel - particularly diesel - was being rationed.

Shortages were also reported in northern France, with some 40 stations in Hauts-de-France alone saying they were running out of fuel.

Real-time app mon-essence.fr - which relies on data supplied by its four million users - reported on Wednesday that two stations in the southwest had run dry, while 53 nationwide were suffering partial shortages of fuel.