Shell to sell most French fuel stations

A Shell petrol station sign is reflected in a puddle in London April 28, 2009.

PARIS (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) plans to sell 70 percent of its French fuel stations and cut by a third its 1,200 person work force in France, French newspaper Les Echos reported in its Wednesday edition.

The Anglo-Dutch oil major will divest 240 out of the 340 stations it owns in France, Les Echos said in an advance copy of its front page received by Reuters late on Tuesday.

Les Echos cited no source.

Royal Dutch Shell, which sold its three refineries in France last year, was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Marie Maitre, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)