France is bracing for new strikes this week and continues to face a gasoline shortage, with six out of height refineries blocked or partially disrupted by protests against a labor law.

About 20 percent of gas stations were still low or empty across the country Tuesday, according to the UFIP national oil industry lobby.

Some French labor unions have called for new strikes in the coming days that will target trains, the Paris subway system, ports and possibly airports.

The junior minister for transportation, Alain Vidalies, said 60 percent of the country’s high speed trains and half the Paris regional trains are expected to run on Wednesday.

A few hundred protesters blocked commercial transportation trucks in a transit area near Marseille for a few hours on Tuesday.

(AP)