Commuters in
France Stranded
Strikers in France
crippled the country's public transport system on Thursday,
forcing commuters to drive, pedal or trek to work or stay at
home.
The strike was the first major showdown between President
Nicolas Sarkozy, who was elected in May with a strong mandate
for change, and powerful unions, who have in the past forced the
government to back down from reform plans.
It comes as France prepares to host Saturday's Rugby World Cup
final, with thousands of fans arriving in Paris.
Bus, train and subway service ground to a halt across France.
More than 90 percent of high-speed TGV trains were down, only
one Paris subway line, which is automatic, with no drivers, was
running as usual; and international trains were affected though
spared the worst.
Regional trains were virtually at a standstill and many suburban
commuters were cut off from neighbouring cities by public
transport and feared driving to work would ensnare them in
traffic jams.
The national rail operator, SNCF said Four in five Eurostar
trains to London were running, and three in five Thalys trains
to Belgium and the Netherlands,
Travellers have been urged to postpone their journeys and many
Paris commuters have made arrangements to take the day off or
work from home. Others were planning car-shares or to use the
capital's new Velib self-service bicycle scheme.
The Paris airports authority and Air France said flights in and
out of Paris were unaffected, though it added that some
travelers may have had trouble getting to the airport via
commuter trains.
The economic impact and the full extent of the strike were
virtually impossible to estimate, for now and the UNSA labor
union said employees at Paris' transport authority agreed to
extend their walkout, originally scheduled to end Thursday
evening, until Friday on at least six of 14 subway lines. Others
were also said to be considering whether to follow suit.
Defying President Nicolas Sarkozy's push to reform, unions have
been in a mild battle with the conservative government over the
past several months. Thursday's walkout amounted to the first
exchange of shots.
Bone Of Contention
The dispute centers on government’s plans to eliminate a special
pension plan devised to give advantages to those in physically
demanding jobs, such as miners and train drivers. Workers
covered by those pensions are able to retire earlier, and on
more generous terms, than the vast majority of France's working
population.
The president wants a level playing field for workers: 40-year
contributions into the pension fund to obtain full retirement
benefits.
Sarkozy has been eager to rein in state spending. He has also
sought to reduce the power of extended union action, championing
a law that would force workers to provide at least a minimum
level of service during strikes.
Even though the right to strike is widely seen as sacrosanct in
France, some commuters hampered by the walkout expressed their
support for the transport workers.
Other unions outside the transport sector have been relatively
quiet about protest plans, apparently keeping their cool until
government unveils planned broader reforms of the public service
sector, which could affect everything from hospitals to
state-run day care.
Reactions
President Sarkozy was in Portugal at an EU summit on Thursday.
His spokesman David Martinon said the president was being
informed regularly about the strikes but referred questions to
the Labor Ministry.
Also in neighbouring Germany, commuters in the largest cities
sat for hours in traffic jams after more than 1,000 train
drivers walked off their jobs on the country's dense local rail
network. The German strike was to last nine hours. It was the
second such action organised by German train drivers' union GDL,
which is seeking better working conditions from railway
operator, Deutsche Bahn.
AP/BBC/YINKA
