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Agence France-Presse

Holiday travellers across France scrambled for alternatives on Sunday as an 18-day-old transport strike over pension reform saw train services slashed yet again.
President Emmanuel Macron issued an appeal on Saturday for a truce over the holidays but talks between the government and unions this week have failed to ease the stand-off and labour leaders called for further mobilisation.
Workers at the SNCF and RATP public rail companies have downed tools to protest at the government’s plan to forge a single points-based pension scheme out of 42 existing ones, which would see some public employees lose certain privileges.
As a result, weeks of travel misery worsened on Sunday, when tens of thousands planned to meet up with family and friends for the Christmas break.

Only half of high-speed TGV and a quarter of intercity trains were running, and the SNCF urged travellers to cancel or delay planned trips if possible.
In Paris, trains connecting the capital to its suburbs were down to a trickle, and only two out of 16 metro lines provided a service on the last shopping Sunday before Christmas.
Macron, on a visit to the Ivory Coast, urged striking workers to embrace a “spirit of responsibility” and for “collective good sense to triumph”.
“I believe there are moments in the life of a nation when it is also good to call a truce to respect families and the lives of families,” he said in Abidjan.

A poll by the IFOP agency published on Sunday showed public backing for the action dropping slightly by three percentage points, though 51 per cent still expressed support or sympathy for the strikers.
Jean Garrigues, a historian with the University of Orleans, said this was likely to change over the holidays – cherished family time for the French.

“The transport blockage has mostly affected the Parisian region, and we can see that in the coming period, it will also affect people in the rural areas. This will alienate many people from the labour movement. There will certainly be a drop in support,” he said.
“I’m upset, this strike is unbearable … The government must do something,” said Jeffrey Nwutu Ebube, who was in the northern port town of Le Havre trying to find a way back home to the southern city of Toulouse, some 850km (530 miles) away.
France’s pensions chief quits as transport strike hits 12th day
Many stranded travellers have turned to car rental agencies or sharing platforms since the strike began on December 5, but the last-minute surge in demand meant vehicles were hard to come by.
“We tried other ways, BlaBlaCar, etc, but everything is full, everything is taken,” said Jerome Pelletier, a manager in the textile industry.
President Macron wants to forge the country’s 42 separate pension regimes into a single points-based system which the government says will be fairer and more transparent.

It would do away with schemes that offer early retirement and other advantages to mainly public-sector workers, not least train drivers who can retire as early as 52.
While some unions support a single system, almost all reject a new “pivot age” of 64 – beyond the legal retirement age of 62 – which workers would have to reach to get a full pension.
Bank of China office in Paris vandalised during French ‘yellow vest’ protests
The unions are hoping for a repeat of 1995 when the government backed down on pension reform after three weeks of metro and rail stoppages just before Christmas.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Thursday that talks had made progress and called on unions to lift the strike “so that millions of French can join their families for the end of this year”.
Although the moderate UNSA union agreed, the hardline CGT and Force Ouvrier unions said they would not let up.
Who killed Steve? Emotions run high in France as protesters clash with police
This weekend, the last for Christmas shopping, the RATP Paris train operator said metro services would be “heavily reduced” on Sunday with only two driverless metro lines working.
The protest is also taking a heavy toll on businesses, especially retail, during one of the busiest periods of the year, with industry associations reporting turnover declines of 30 to 60 per cent from a year earlier.
Additional reporting by DPA


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France

Travelling in France? Expect Christmas chaos from train strikes

Commuters and travellers at a crowded Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris on Saturday. Photo: EPA

People wait for a train at the Gare du Nord railway station, in Paris, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019. France's punishing transportation troubles may ease up slightly over Christmas, but unions plan renewed strikes and protests in January to resist government plans to raise the retirement age to 64. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

epa08083913 Commuters and travelers stand in a crowded Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, France, 20 December 2019. Unions representing railway and transport workers and many others in the public sector have called for a general strike and demonstration to protest against French government's reform of the pension system. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT

(191218) -- PARIS, Dec. 18, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Police officers arrest a protestor during a demonstration in Lille, France, Dec. 17, 2019. France enters the 13th day of anti-pensions reform social movement on Tuesday, with high percentage of transport and education workers going on strike, as well as tens of thousands of protesters hitting streets in main cities across the country. (Photo by Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua)

People stand in the hall of the Gare du Nord railway station, in Paris, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019. France's punishing transportation troubles may ease up slightly over Christmas, but unions plan renewed strikes and protests in January to resist government plans to raise the retirement age to 64. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

epaselect epa08083997 Commuters and travelers stand inside a crowded suburb train at Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, France, 20 December 2019. Unions representing railway and transport workers and many others in the public sector have called for a general strike and demonstration to protest against French government's reform of the pension system. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT

Who killed Steve? Emotions run high in France as protesters clash with police

Police use water canons against protesters in Nantes, France. Photo: EPA

A woman pays her respects as she stands on a pier on the Loire river, on July 31, 2019, in Nantes, western France, where the body of 24-year-old Steve Maia Canico, who disappeared over a month ago during a police raid on a music festival, had been found in the river two days before. - Steve Maia Canico went missing on the night of June 21-22 after officers in the western city of Nantes moved in to disperse techno music fans attending a free concert as part of France's national music celebration day. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

epa07755258 Riot mobile gendarmes are deployed during a rally in central Nantes, France, 03 August 2019, called in memory of Steve Maia Canico. The 24-year-old Frenchman, who disappeared after falling in the river following a police raid on a music festival, was found in the Loire river on 30 July. He went missing on the night of June 21-22 after police officers in the western city of Nantes raided a free concert held as part of France's national music celebration day. His death has led to a public outcry and accusations that the police used excessive force in dispersing the crowds. EPA-EFE/THIBAULT VANDERMERSCH

epa07755282 Anti-criminality brigade (BAC) police officers during a demonstration in Nantes, France, 03 August 2019, called in memory of Steve Maia Canico. The 24-year-old Frenchman, who disappeared after falling in the river following a police raid on a music festival, was found in the Loire river on 30 July. He went missing on the night of June 21-22 after police officers in the western city of Nantes raided a free concert held as part of France's national music celebration day. His death has led to a public outcry and accusations that the police used excessive force in dispersing the crowds. EPA-EFE/THIBAULT VANDERMERSCH

A mural depicting Steve Maia Canico, who drowned following a violent clash between police and people attending a music festival. Photo: EPA

Bank of China office in Paris vandalised during French ‘yellow vest’ protests

Riot police walk by a Bank of China office defaced with the words: ‘With Hong Kong’, in Paris on November 16, 2019. Photo: AFP

A protester stands near a fire on place d'Italie in Paris on November 16, 2019, during a demonstration of the "yellow vest" (gilets jaunes) marking the first anniversary of the movement. - French "yellow vest" protesters are planning a series of nationwide demonstrations this weekend in a bid to show the government they can still muster support on the first anniversary of their movement. Numbers attending the protests and levels of violence have sharply diminished in recent months from the height of the movement, which began on November 17 last year with a giant Paris protest that drew almost 300,000 people. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP)

Protesters break the windows of a bank near the Porte d'Italie in Paris on November 16, 2019, during clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration marking the first anniversary of the "yellow vest" (gilets jaunes) movement. - French "yellow vest" protesters are planning a series of nationwide demonstrations this weekend in a bid to show the government they can still muster support on the first anniversary of their movement. Numbers attending the protests and levels of violence have sharply diminished in recent months from the height of the movement, which began on November 17 last year with a giant Paris protest that drew almost 300,000 people. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)

epa08001238 Masked protesters overturn a car as they clash with riot police during the 'Gilets Jaunes' (Yellow Vests) 'Act 53' demonstration (the 53rd consecutive national protest on a Saturday) in Paris, France, 16 November 2019. The so-called 'gilets jaunes' (yellow vests) call for a massive demonstration in Paris to mark the one-year anniversary of this protest movement. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT

Protesters uses makeshift shields during a demonstration to mark the first anniversary of the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, November 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

A riot police officer holds a tear gas canister launcher during a demonstration to mark the first anniversary of the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, November 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

France’s pensions chief quits as transport strike hits 12th day

Railway workers attend a general assembly to vote for the strikes’ extension, next to the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. Photo: EPA

epa08075191 Railway workers vote for the movement's extension during in a General Assembly by the Gare de Lyon train station during a general strike action, in Paris, France, 16 December 2019. Unions representing railway and transport workers and many others in the public sector have called for a general strike and demonstration to protest against French government's reform of the pension system. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT

epa08075201 Railway workers listen to speeches at a general assembly to vote for the strikes extension, next to the Gare de Lyon train station during a general strike action, in Paris, France, 16 December 2019. Unions representing railway and transport workers in the public sector have called for a general strike, along with demonstrations, to protest against the French government's reform of the nation's pension system. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT

epa08075133 (FILE) - French High Commissioner for Pension Reform Jean-Paul Delevoye (L) arrives to attend a meeting where French Prime Minister Philippe will unveil the details of a pension reform plan before the CESE (Economic, Social and Environmental Council) in Paris, France, 11 December 2019 (reissued 16 December 2019). Jean-Paul Delevoye presented his resignation on 16 December 2019, following a controversy about an alleged conflicts of interest and holding various positions and remunerations at the same time while being part of the French government. EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON

epa08075196 Railway workers light smoke grenage during in a General Assembly to vote for the movement's extension by the Gare de Lyon train station during a general strike action, in Paris, France, 16 December 2019. Unions representing railway and transport workers and many others in the public sector have called for a general strike and demonstration to protest against French government's reform of the pension system. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT

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Holiday travel in France has been hit hard by ongoing strikes
Protests against pension reforms have taken place for over two weeks



Travellers and tourists were struggling to get to their destinations this weekend as the Christmas season ramped up amid continuing strikes against the French government’s plans to raise the retirement age to 64.


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Travelling in France? Expect Christmas chaos from train strikes

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Holiday travel in France has been hit hard by ongoing strikes Protests against pension reforms have taken place for over two weeks

Holiday travel in France has been hit hard by ongoing strikes

Protests against pension reforms have taken place for over two weeks