Rail workers in France walked off their jobs on Wednesday night in protest of the planned reorganization of national rail and train companies in accordance with European Union reforms. Unions in France were concerned that planned reforms to the railway system would lead to loss of employment for many people. The past five years have seen around 10,000 jobs lost based on data provided by the unions. Another motivation for the strike is to put pressure on management with regard to certain wage demands ahead of negotiations scheduled to start on Friday. The strike has been affecting international and overnight travel to and from France en masse.
Rail operations affected
On Thursday, 70% of trips were cancelled and only 40% of the TGV high-speed trains were running in France. At Gare de Lyon, hundreds were caught in the middle, left in the platforms to wait or look for an alternative means of going to their destinations. Only one in three trains was guaranteed causing a huge increase in commuter traffic in Paris. SNCF, the national railway company tried its best to limit the disruptions particularly those concerning high-speed journeys to international destinations such as London.
Railway reforms
The President of France Francois Hollande announced that Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) will be merged with the company in charge of maintenance of the rail network, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF). Around 150,000 employees currently work for the SNCF.
The SNCF workers initiated the protest against the plan of the European Union plan to privatize transport services that have been under state management for years. The reforms in the railway system have the support of the government of France. Junior minister for transport Frederic Cuvillier said that the reforms would result in more reliable services and better infrastructure without additional expense to taxpayers.
Another strike
The train strike immediately followed a two-day strike by air traffic controllers in protest of another EU plan to simplify the existing patchwork European airspace. French air traffic controllers protested the plan amidst concerns that working conditions would worsen and people would lose jobs. The ACT strike would have persisted if not for the move by Paris to ask for a review of the plan to merge the 27-member European Union airspace.
Air traffic operations were just returning to normal when the railway strike started. After what has been dubbed as chaos in European skies, tourists now face the challenge of getting in or out of airports in Paris given the unavailability of trains.
Eurostar advisory
A spokesperson for Eurostar told the media that their international services are running as usual. However, domestic services are affected by the strike. Passengers with domestic connections are advised to consider travelling on another day and altering their plans for now. Travel transfers require no extra charge, according to Eurostar. Half the trains to Swiss destinations are operational while one in three is still running to destinations in Italy. Eurostar trains leaving for London, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands are not affected.
Caption: A typical scene at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, France
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