France braces for fresh travel woes as working week resumes with general strike over Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms entering a fifth day
- French commuters are being warned to stay away from train stations on Monday
- Trains are at a standstill with 14 Paris metro lines closed and Eurostars affected
- Unions are calling for even more people to join protests over pension reforms
France is bracing for fresh transport woes when the new working week begins on Monday with a general strike still underway.
Trains were at a standstill on Sunday as the strikes entered their fourth day, with 14 Paris metro lines closed and Eurostar services hobbled.
Monday will be an even bigger test of commuters’ patience, as unions call for even more people to join the strike over Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms.
Many employees worked from home or took days off when the strikes began last week, but the protests are set to continue longer than most workers can stay at home.
Shut down: A Paris metro station is closed amid travel chaos, caused by a strike over Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension reforms
French railway operator SNCF is warning travellers to stay away from overcrowded train stations on Monday morning.
‘On December 9, stay home or find another means of locomotion,’ SNCF said, while Paris transport authority RATP issued a similar warning.
Macron met his senior cabinet ministers late on Sunday to discuss the planned pension reforms which have prompted the strike.
The French president argues that the overhaul will improve a convoluted pension system, uniting 42 different plans into one.
The plan does not change the official retirement age of 62, but workers will be incentivised to work longer.
Unions see the reforms as an attack on worker’s rights and fear that people will have to work longer for smaller pensions.
Under fire: French labour unions are calling for even more people to join the strike against Emmanuel Macron (pictured) and his pension reforms
The plan will affect all French workers but the strikes involve primarily public sector workers, including train drivers, teachers and hospital employees.
On the first day, some 800,000 people took to the streets in protest at the plan.
The long-standing ‘yellow vest’ protesters joined the demonstrations on Saturday, adding retirement reform to their list of economic grievances.
Police fired tear gas on rowdy protesters at largely peaceful marches through Paris and the western city of Nantes.
New nationwide protests are scheduled on Tuesday and prime minister Edouard Philippe will release details of the new retirement plan on Wednesday.
As well as local travel, regional and international trains including the Eurostar, were hobbled by the unrest, and several flights were cancelled.
Main roads in Paris are also expected to be more congested than usual as many non-striking workers opt to drive to work.
Many tourists were also left disappointed as the world-famous Louvre closed some rooms, and the Paris Opera and other theatres in the capital cancelled performances.