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PARIS, Sunday (AFP)

Chaos loomed on French roads as talks between truckers and their employers to settle a pay dispute were suspended, and unions called for blockades to be set up around the country.

But the government warned that it would send in its security forces immediately if the truckers -- whose action could paralyse the country's motorways and oil depots -- block vital routes.

A union source said negotiations, which had already run into problems when one employers' group walked out, would resume on Sunday afternoon but held out little hope of success.

And with France's public sector unions also planning a one-day strike on Tuesday, the country faces a shutdown in rail service in addition to disruptions on major highways.

But Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy warned: "The government will not accept the country being paralysed.

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