Strikers shut down train traffic in France
PARIS - Strikers shut down much of France’s national rail service after rush hour Tuesday night, and millions of Paris commuters prepared to go without subways when the city’s train crews join the walkout.
People planned to use the capital’s new bicycle-rental service, share cars or stay home during today’s subway strike. Others said they would walk.
Xavier Basset, an accountant, faced a nearly four-mile walk across Paris to his office. “I’ll work on my calves,” he said.
Unlike recent limited transportation strikes, rail unions set no time limit for the shutdown called to protest the conservative government’s move to eliminate special rules that allow train drivers and certain other public workers to retire early.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government insists the pension rules are outdated, unfair and too costly. Several opinion surveys suggest Sarkozy has public support. He vowed Tuesday not to give in to trade unions, which have defeated previous government attempts to loosen work rules.
Sarkozy stresses “his determination to carry out this reform” and hopes to implement it quickly, presidential spokesman David Martinon said.
Rail traffic shut down across France late Tuesday, and the SNCF rail network said only 15 percent to 20 percent of trains on major lines would run. It said traffic would likely be disrupted through the weekend and urged travelers to postpone trips.
With Paris subway workers set to join in, the city’s public-transit authority, RATP, predicted almost no trains would run on most routes starting today. Only one line was expected to run normally, as it is automated.
High demand was expected for the more than 10,000 bikes recently installed by city officials at 750 spots across Paris to encourage a reduction in car use. The bikes, which can be left at any of the stations, proved extremely popular during a short transit strike last month, when the number of daily users doubled to 180,000.
Officials said they would deploy 260 workers armed with metal cutters to retrieve bikes from anyone who tried to hog them all day. The bicycles are intended to be used for short trips, and rental prices skyrocket as the clock ticks - usually enough to deter riders from hoarding bikes, but not on strike days.
While the transit walkout would have the biggest impact, employees of state-run electricity, gas and other services were expected to join the strike.
Electricity workers said they would cut power to local offices of Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party, and they threatened “Robin Hood” operations - restoring power to households that cannot afford their electricity bills.