French Police Break Up Refinery Blockade In Anti-Reform Showdown

French police using water cannon and tear gas broke up a strike picket that was blocking access to a large oil refinery in the southern port area of Marseille on Tuesday in a government versus union showdown over contested labor law reforms.

The police operation outside the Fos-sur-Mer refinery, which belongs to U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp, took place as scores of fuel stations ran dry and the government warned the industrial action would not be tolerated.