Travel turmoil grips France as strike enters second day

A protestor wearing a yellow vest stands in front of BRAV brigades police during a demonstration against the pension overhauls in Paris

PARIS (AFP) - Travellers faced a second day of chaos across France yesterday as unions pressed on with a strike aimed at forcing President Emmanuel Macron to abandon pension reforms that brought nearly a million people onto the streets.

Dozens of trains, metros and flights were cancelled, many schools were again closed or offering only daycare and four of the country’s eight oil refineries remained blocked, raising the 
prospect of fuel shortages.

Rail operator SNCF has already halted ticket sales through the weekend, with 90 percent of high-speed TGV trains again cancelled Friday and little improvement expected over the weekend.

Half of the Eurostar trains between Paris and London have been dropped, and just two of three Thalys trains serving Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam were running.
“I was supposed to take a train to Metz (northeast France), I reserved my ticket three days ago but it’s been cancelled and I’ve gotten no information,” Rachel Pallamidessi told AFP at a deserted station in the city of Strasbourg.

The walkout is the latest test of Macron’s mettle after months of protests from teachers, hospital workers, police and firefighters, capping a year of social unrest triggered by the “yellow vest” protest movement.

Unions say Macron’s proposal for a single pension system, which would eliminate dozens of separate plans for public sector workers, would force millions of people in both the public and private sectors to work well beyond the official retirement age of 62. The government will unveil details of the plan next week but has already said people will have to work longer to maintain a system that could have a deficit of up to 17 billion euros (US$ 19 billion) by 2025. At least 800,000 took part in rallies around the country on Thursday, according to the interior ministry, one of the biggest demonstrations of union strength in nearly a decade.

Another day of strikes and rallies has been called for Tuesday, a day after union leaders are to meet again with government officials over the pension reform.
“There were lots of people on strike, now we need even more if we want to influence these decisions,” Philippe Martinez of the hard-line CGT union told LCI television.