News / France

French rail strike continues, two thirds of trains cancelled

Friday, 13 April 2018 1:57 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 13 April 2018 2:00 PM ]

TGV high speed trains stand stationery on tracks near the road traffic of the Paris ring road on April 10, 2018 as French rail workers launched a strike over plans to overhaul the national state-owned railway company SNCF. (Photo by AFP)

French rail workers have begun the third wave of strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to reform the state operator SNCF.

Only a third of high-speed trains were running at Paris's Gare de Lyon terminus, which provides long-distance services to the Alps and the French Riviera. Local services were also impacted.

The stoppages are reportedly planned to continue until the summer.

Chaos was not reported as most commuters were aware of the strikes due to widespread media coverage and an information campaign at stations, and had changed train bookings or amended travel plans.

"I hope (the strike will be over soon) because it's paralyzing the country, I imagine that all the shops at the Gare de Lyon were deserted this morning. I think that all of the shops need passengers to survive, the economy needs to keep going," passenger travelling from Lyon to Paris for a meeting, Jean-Michel Borthayre, said.

In a television interview Thursday, Macron vowed to push through his reforms, which include changes to the legal status of the company and the working conditions of new hires.

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