FRENCH oil unions have called on workers to strike in protest at an attack on pensions signalled by the government over the last week.

The unions’ call on Thursday could lead to a repeat of the refinery and depot closures that brought France to a standstill last year .

The walkouts, the first of which is planned for next Thursday, would include “shutdowns of refinery installations if necessary,” said Eric Sellini, national co-ordinator of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) at energy giant TotalEnergies.

A 24-hour walkout on January 19 would coincide with a national day of strikes and demonstrations, backed by all of France's major trade union federations, against President Emmanuel Macron’s attack on pension rights.

Unions object to the government's proposal to raise the legal retirement age by two years to 64 and to speed up increases in the minimum number of years of contributions required to receive a full pension.

A 24-hour walkout by oil workers on January 19 could be followed by a 48-hour strike from January 26 and a 72-hour stoppage from February 6.

Weeks of industrial action at refineries and depots last autumn caused severge fuel shortages for motorists, with huge queues forming at many petrol stations.

Public Services Minister Stanislas Guerini said: “This strike can happen without jamming up the country.”