French commuters face strike chaos

COMMUTERS across France faced severe disruptions yesterday as rail workers launched three months of rolling strikes, a major test of President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to reshape the country through sweeping reforms.

More than three-quarters of train drivers joined the first day of the walkout, according to SNCF, the heavily indebted state rail operator which Macron wants to overhaul. But overall only a third of staff were on strike, the company said.

Only one in eight high-speed TGV trains and a fifth of regional trains were running on what French media have dubbed “black Tuesday.”

With stoppages planned two days out of five until June 28, weeks of disruption lie ahead for France’s 4.5 million daily train passengers.

“We have been asking for the same thing for several weeks — that the government completely reconsider its plan. They need to start again from scratch,” Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT trade union said.

Staff at Air France, garbage collectors and some energy workers were also staging separate walkouts yesterday in a growing atmosphere of social strife 11 months after 40-yearold Macron came to power.

Public support for the rail strike stands at just below half, according to an Ifop poll released on Sunday.

As commuters took to the roads instead, the streets of Paris were snarled with an “exceptional” 370 kilometers of traffic jams during the morning rush hour before easing, said traffic website Sytadin.