France's CGT union workers voted to start rolling strikes in the power sector Wednesday June 01,2016

France's CGT union workers voted on Wednesday June 01,2016 to start rolling strikes in the power sector, including at all 19 nuclear power plants, as part of nationwide protests aimed at forcing the government to withdraw a disputed planned labour reform.

The strike is expected to cut French power output from 1900 GMT on Wednesday as workers down tools at plants, but it is unlikely to lead to blackouts due to a rule that obliges unions to maintain a minimum output level that prevents outages.

State-controlled utility EDF may however be forced to increase electricity imports from neighbouring countries to meet demand.

"All power production sites voted to strike from Thursday. All 19 nuclear plants voted for the strike. We will start cutting power output tonight from 1900 GMT," Laurent Langlard, CGT union official at power utility EDF, told