French police force open blockaded petrol stations

French authorities forced strike-shuttered fuel depots to reopen today to ensure petrol supplies keep flowing, and the interior minister threatened to send in paramilitary police to stop rioting on the fringes of protests against raising the retirement age to 62.

Youths wearing hoods and scarves on their faces rampaged through the Paris suburb of Nanterre, breaking shop windows and hurling stones at riot police. The town has seen clashes in recent days centred on a high school that joined the protests.