The company expected the blockade, which started on Sunday, to be over by Thursday, a spokesman said.

The group's French refineries were not impacted by the protests but 145 of its 2,200 petrol stations across the country saw fuel outages, he said.

France's main farmers' union earlier on Wednesday called on members to end the blockade, linked to anger over competition from agricultural imports including palm oil used for biofuel.

(Reporting by Bate Felix, writing by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Leigh Thomas)