Rail strikes in France are set to bring widespread disruption across the country from Tuesday night, although the Paris Metro and international services will be less affected, reports FRANCE 24.
The industrial action by workers in France’s state-owned SNCF operator begins at 7pm Tuesday and ends at 8am on Thursday.
The SNCF said that intercity night trains will be cancelled from 7pm Paris Time (GMT+1) on Tuesday. These trains, as well as regional lines across the country, will be running a one-third service during the day.
On Wednesday, the Transilien regional rail service in the Ile de France region around Paris will be operating one train in three.
High-speed TGV services in the east of France will be reduced to a half service, while in the north, west and south of France, only one in three TGV trains will be running.
In Paris, the Metro and RER services in and around the city will be largely unaffected by the strike, except for the RER B line that connects Charles de Gaulle airport with the city, which will see two thirds of trains cancelled.
International services will also be affected, with 20 percent of Eurostar train cancelled.
The Lyria TGV line connecting France with Switzerland will be running at 50 percent and the SVI line to Italy will be reduced to a one-third service.
Thalys trains (connecting Paris with Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands) and the Alleo line to Germany will be operating normally.
In a rare show of unity, the strike was called by the four main unions representing France’s rail workers – the CFDT, CGT Sud and Unsa. It is the most widespread industrial action on France’s railways since 2013.
All the participating unions are demanding that extra staff be recruited, as well as pay rises and guarantees about their working conditions.