TotalEnergies yesterday proposed to bring forward annual wage talks, in response to union demands, to try to end a protracted strike that has disrupted supplies to almost a third of the country’s petrol stations.

“Provided the blockades will end and all labour representatives agree, the company proposes to advance to October the start of mandatory annual wage talks,” it said in a statement. The talks were initially scheduled to start in mid-November.

Union representatives earlier told said the strikes staged by the CGT, historically one of France’s more militant unions, would continue.

They have disrupted operations at two ExxonMobil sites as well as at two TotalEnergies sites.

Over roughly two weeks of industrial action, France’s domestic fuel output has fallen by more than 60pc, straining nerves across the country, as waiting lines grow and supplies have run dry...

Wage talks have been underway for weeks at ExxonMobil, while the CGT at TotalEnergies said it has been trying to get the management to the negotiation table earlier than formal talks scheduled next month.

Workers at TotalEnergies are seeking a 10pc pay rise starting this year after a surge in energy prices led to huge profits that allowed the company to pay out an estimated €8bn in dividends and an additional special dividend to investors.

The company’s CEO last week said “the time has come to reward” workers, but the company until had refused to start negotiations. A CGT representative said the union would not make any comment on TotalEnergie’s offer before informing workers.

The CFDT union, France’s largest, which chose not to call for strikes despite demanding a similar pay rise, said in a statement it was prepared to start wage talks in October.

ExxonMobil in France did not immediately reply to a request for comment.