Strike causes railway chaos, more to come
PARIS — A major French railway strike brought the country’s famed high-speed trains to a halt Tuesday, leaving passengers stranded or scrambling for other options — and posing the biggest test so far of President Emmanuel Macron’s economic strategy.
The SNCF national rail authority said only about 12 percent of trains were running during the first of a series of weekly two-day strikes that labor unions have called for the next three months.
Rail service is expected to remain “very disturbed” Wednesday, with 86 percent of trains canceled nationwide, according to forecasts from state-owned SNCF.
International traffic also will be reduced for a second day from Paris to London and between France and Germany, SNCF predicted. No trains are expected to be operating between France and Italy, Spain and Switzerland, the railway company said.
The strike’s impact immediately was visible on Tuesday. Passengers hitched rides on traffic-clogged roads and shared travel tips online.
Commuters expressed anger at the overall situation, but were not necessarily taking sides.
“Really this is catastrophic. Something needs to be done. We are the victims. We need to get to work like everyone else,” Aziza Fleris, 56, said.
SNCF said 77 percent of train drivers were on strike. The overall proportion of rail workers participating in the work stoppage including employees on trains and on the ground— was 33.9 percent, the company detailed in a statement.
Labor unions say Macron — a centrist former investment banker whom critics consider the president of the rich — is threatening hard-fought French rights that workers in other countries envy, as well as damaging the whole idea of public service.
All in all, it was one of the worst days of industrial strife in France since Macron was elected president nearly a year ago. Macron has made reforming France’s economy a central plank of his presidency. Many of his plans, particularly in the labor market, are meeting with increasing opposition from France’s unions.
Rail workers are protesting plans to eliminate a special status that they’ve enjoyed for decades.
The “cheminot” status effectively guarantees jobs for life and other benefits, in keeping with the image of France’s railways as an essential pillar of the country’s infrastructure and its public services.