This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7095796.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
France faces fresh travel misery | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
France faces a second day of travel chaos as transport unions continue a strike in protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reforms. | France faces a second day of travel chaos as transport unions continue a strike in protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reforms. |
More trains were running than on Wednesday, but millions of people still struggled to get to work. | |
Rail and bus services were crippled on Wednesday, and more than 50,000 people rallied in Paris against the plans. | |
Mr Sarkozy has called for a speedy end to the strike, saying conditions for talks with the unions have been met. | |
Germany also faces rail disruption in its worst ever transport strike, with only two-thirds of trains running on main lines. | |
Passenger and freight train drivers have taken the action over a pay demand. | |
Deutsche Bahn says it will not make a new pay offer, and drivers' unions have raised the prospect of open-ended strikes. | Deutsche Bahn says it will not make a new pay offer, and drivers' unions have raised the prospect of open-ended strikes. |
Breakthrough hopes | Breakthrough hopes |
In France, the CGT union said 46% of employees at the state-run SNCF train company were on strike on Thursday, compared with 64% the day before. | |
However, members of the CFDT union, on strike on Wednesday, went back to work. | |
Paris metro lines were running at about 30% of their normal levels of service, the Agence France Presse news agency reported, while only 150 of the usual 700 TGV high-speed trains were running. | |
'SPECIAL' PENSIONS SYSTEM Benefits 1.6m workers, including 1.1m retireesApplies in 16 sectors, of which rail and utilities employees make up 360,000 peopleAccount for 6% of total state pension paymentsShortfall costs state 5bn euros (£3.5bn; $6.9bn) a yearSome workers can retire on full pensions aged 50Awarded to Paris Opera House workers in 1698 by Louis XIV class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7094865.stm">In pictures: French strikes class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7094525.stm">Can street protests succeed? class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7094893.stm">Solidarity amid French crisis class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=3821&edition=1">Have you been affected? | |
Major roads in the Paris region were clogged, with a reported 300km (180 miles) of traffic jams early in the day. | |
On Wednesday, fewer than 25% of trains and only 90 of the 700 high-speed TGVs ran normally, while just one in five trains on the Paris metro and only 15% of bus services operated. | |
Commuters across the country have been forced to find other ways to get to work - car sharing, cycling or roller-blading along traffic-choked roads. | |
Hopes of a breakthrough were raised on Wednesday evening after Mr Sarkozy said conditions for talks had been created. | |
But six rail and four metro unions later voted to continue the action for at least another 24 hours. | But six rail and four metro unions later voted to continue the action for at least another 24 hours. |
'New elements' | |
The unions are due to respond to a letter from labour minister Xavier Bertrand proposing a month of negotiations between all parties. | |
"There are some new elements [in the letter] and it is up to the workers concerned to decide what to do," Didier Le Reste, head of railway branch of the CGT union, said. | |
All rail services were disrupted | |
The strike began on Tuesday night and follows a previous walkout on 18 October. | |
The last time a French government tried to overhaul "special" pensions was in 1995 and it sparked three weeks of strikes that forced then-President Jacques Chirac to climb down. | The last time a French government tried to overhaul "special" pensions was in 1995 and it sparked three weeks of strikes that forced then-President Jacques Chirac to climb down. |
But the polls have so far broadly supported Mr Sarkozy, who says France can no longer afford to let some public service employees retire on a full pension as early as 50. | But the polls have so far broadly supported Mr Sarkozy, who says France can no longer afford to let some public service employees retire on a full pension as early as 50. |
Thursday's disruption coincided with protests at 31 universities over education reforms. |