The demonstration on Sunday has been called by left-wing political parties, backed by hundreds of associations, which are seeking to build on the momentum created by the refinery standoff.

“You can see that this movement is starting to spread,” the parliamentary head of the left-wing France Unbowed party, Mathilde Panot, told franceinfo radio.

“You can see it in the nuclear sector. Truck drivers have announced a stoppage on Tuesday, and lots of other sectors are starting to join them,” she added.

Several French unions, but not all, have announced a national day of strikes on Tuesday that is expected to affect road transport, trains and the public sector.

French energy giant TotalEnergies said last Friday that it had reached a pay deal with the two largest unions representing staff at its four refineries, raising hopes of an end to the standoff.

But the famously militant CGT union has refused to accept it, with its members continuing to maintain picket lines.

‘Unacceptable’

Budget Minister Gabriel Attal denounced the continuation of the strike on Sunday as “unacceptable”.

“Of course there’s a right to strike, but at some point the country needs to be able to work,” he told French media.

Staff at two other refineries owned by the US group Esso-ExxonMobil returned to work at the end of last week, but operations there will need two-to-three weeks to return to normal, the company said.

Around a third of petrol stations around the country have supply problems, particularly those around Paris and in the north, meaning drivers are often waiting hours to re-fuel.

Many companies have cut back on travel and deliveries, while even emergency service vehicles are facing supply problems.

Last week, the government invoked emergency powers to compel some striking fuel depot workers to return to their jobs in order to release fuel stocks stuck inside blockaded facilities.

This incensed the CGT, which said the move was evidence of the “dictatorship” of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The huge profits by energy groups due to record fuel prices has led to some sympathy for employees pushing for higher wages.

But one poll by the BVA polling group released Friday, suggested that only 37 percent of people supported the stoppages.

Pension reform 

Sunday’s protest march through Paris was called by France Unbowed party and is backed by its coalition allies — the Greens, Socialists and Communists.

Recently named Nobel literature prize winner Annie Ernaux and another 60 figures from the arts and public life also called for people to join the march in a joint letter last week.

The main objective is to draw attention to the plight of workers struggling with higher costs — French inflation is around 6.0 percent — as well as denounce inaction on climate change.

Police are expecting around 30,000 people to attend, with one source saying they feared problems from anarchist groups which regularly clash with security forces on the sidelines of French protests.

“The organiser has been warned of these fears,” said the official.

The scale of the protests and strikes in the coming months could have an impact on the government’s ability to push through a highly controversial change to the pensions system.

Macron, who won re-election in April, has pledged to push back the retirement age from 62 to bring France into line with its European peers.

But the idea is fiercely opposed by trade unions and leftwing parties.

More than a week after strikes reduced France‘s petrol output by over 60% and caused major disruptions at petrol stations, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said TotalEnergies had “the possibility and therefore the duty” to raise wages, adding the company had “come late” in starting talks with unions after making large profits.

Le Maire’s statement came as the French government on Thursday said it was prepared to force employees to go back to work at a TotalEnergies storage site, as the CGT union and the company remain in a gridlock over wages.

“If needed we will take measures to unblock available supplies in the Dunkirk depot”, said Energy Minister Agnes-Pannier Runacher, adding: “But I hope things will still evolve today between the CGT and Total.”

Conditions not right for talks, says TotalEnergies

First talks between the company and union leaders were held on Wednesday, but they failed to end the stalemate and a union representative on Thursday told Reuters the strikes affecting four refineries and the storage site in Dunkirk were upheld.

In a statement released on Thursday, TotalEnergies said the conditions to hold wage talks with all unions were not in place as the various blockades continue.

The French oil major also announced it would make a one-off bonus payment to its workforce.

The CGT has called for the start of negotiations “without conditions” and is demanding an immediate 10% pay rise after a surge in energy prices led to huge profits that allowed the company to pay an estimated € 8billion in dividends and an additional special dividend to investors. Like other big oil companies, TotalEnergies’ profits have soared as energy prices increased during the war in Ukraine.

General Strike

The French government was initially reluctant to inflame the situation, but in recent days officials have been forced to acknowledge the growing frustration and economic damage caused by drivers spending hours trying to fill their tanks.

“Petrol is too important for us. It’s been a nightmare for a week,” Santiago, a delivery driver, told AFP in Paris.

Having previously threatened to use emergency powers to order essential workers back on pain of fines or jail time, the government announced Wednesday it was putting them into action.

But even if key personnel are ordered back to work, “it will take at least two weeks” to restore fuel supplies, said Gil Villard, a CGT representative for Esso at the Fos-sur-Mer refinery outside Marseille, in the southeast.

At a time of high energy prices and inflation, TotalEnergies’ bumper profits have caused anger, leading to calls for a windfall tax.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)