Paris (EFE).- The strike in France next Tuesday, which is organized by all the unions against the government pension reform, will lead to mobilizations and blockades of truckers, the cancellation of the rail service with Barcelona, among others, and the reduction of flights.
Very few trains will circulate in the French country due to the strike with which the unions want to paralyze the country, and which, beyond transport, will affect many other sectors of activity.
The state railway company SNCF announced today in a statement that, given the unemployment of many of its employees, on Tuesday it will have to cancel an average of 80% of high-speed trains (TGV) and practically all other long-distance conventional trains .
No service between Paris and Barcelona
On international lines, there will be no service on the Paris-Barcelona corridor (northeast Spanish) or on the lines between France and Germany; only one return train on the links with Italy, and 20% of the usual ones on the connections with Switzerland.
Two thirds of the Eurostars will operate with London and also two thirds of the Thalys that go from Paris to Brussels, some of which then continue in the direction of the Netherlands or Germany.
In the outskirts of Paris, depending on the lines, between a third and a fifth of the usual convoys will remain, which suggests many difficulties in moving by public transport throughout the metropolitan area.
In fact, the RATP metropolitan transport entity indicated in another statement that, in view of the workers who went on strike on the 7th, it will only be able to maintain normal service on the two automatic metro lines, 1 and 14.
In the others, most will only be open at peak times, early in the morning and in the afternoon, and between half and a quarter of the trains. On certain of those subway lines, the entire route will not even be covered.
City buses in the Paris metropolitan area will remain on average for three quarters, although some lines may be closed.
Both the SNCF and the RATP recommended that their travelers postpone their trips that day, if they have the opportunity, by teleworking.
Possible blockades with trucks from Monday
Several truckers’ unions have called mobilizations starting this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT) with blockades of logistics platforms, industrial zones and with the so-called “snail operations” that slow down traffic to generate traffic jams on the access roads to large cities. .
As far as air transport is concerned, the strikes of controllers – one of the very few groups that in France are subject to minimum services – will force companies to reduce their flight schedules at the country’s main airports not only on Tuesday, but also on Wednesday.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) already warned them on Thursday that these two days will have to be cut by 20% at the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and by 30% at Orly airport, also in the capital. .
It also imposed on them the suppression of 30% of their operations on the Beauvais, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice and Toulouse platforms.
Heated atmosphere in France before the strike
Since Friday, to warm up the social atmosphere in view of the fight that the unions intend to raise with the Government on Tuesday and the following days, strikes began in the energy sector that have already resulted in reductions in electrical voltage, although for now This has not implied power cuts for users.
The objective is for the President’s Executive, Emmanuel Macron, to reverse his pension reform, whose main axis is to delay the minimum retirement age from the current 62 years to 64 with the argument that this will preserve the financial balance of the system.
The reform continues its parliamentary process in the Senate as of this week. They are against not only all the unions, but also the parties of the left and the extreme right.
All the polls have shown for months that the majority of public opinion is also opposed. In one of the Ifop demoscopic institute published this Sunday, 68% of those questioned perceive it negatively and only 32% are in favor.