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French rail unions call for rolling strikes in March

All of the unions representing French rail workers have called for 'renewable' strikes in March, joining other workers including Paris public transport staff and waste collectors who have called rolling strikes in the ongoing dispute over pension reform.

Published: 27 February 2023 17:04 CET

French rail unions call for rolling strikes in March

Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

The ongoing dispute between the French government and unions over proposed reforms to the pension system – including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 – have so far taken the form of a series of one-day strikes.

The next of these is scheduled for Tuesday, March 7th, but a growing number of unions are calling for a grève reconductible – renewable or rolling strike – that will begin on March 7th but continue indefinitely.

On Monday unions representing SNCF rail workers became the latest to call for a renewable strike, following workers on the Paris RATP public transport network and waste collectors.

Workers in the country’s chemical industry – including oil refinery workers – are also set to begin renewable strike action from March 6th. Their action is likely to including blockading oil refineries in order to prevent deliveries of petrol and diesel getting through to filling stations.

The rail strikes will have an impact on all French national trains – including TGV, Intercité and local TER routes – and may also affect international routes like the Eurostar.

SNCF will publish a detailed strike timetable on Monday, March 6th.

For the moment, unions representing other industries including teachers are sticking to the on-day strike, but further announcements could be made this week.

Keep up with all the latest in our French pension strike calendar

Member comments

Anonymous - 6 March 2023 at 17:13 CET

I’ll be interested not see if the bond market drastically bids up the interest rates on French debt in the event of a failure of the reform. Could France become the next Greece?

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Thunderstorms, floods and traffic: France’s last holiday weekend in May

Monday, May 20th is a holiday for most of France, marking the Christian festival of Pentecost, which means that many people will enjoy a three-day weekend.

This is the last of four public holidays in France in May 2024, now we need to wait until August for another extra day off work (since the Fête National on July 14th falls on a Sunday this year).

So what can we expect for the long weekend? Well, bad weather and heavy traffic, unfortunately.

The Moselle département, in north-east France, was placed on red weather alert on Friday after hours of heavy rain caused flash flooding.

The red weather alert initially runs until 9pm on Friday, with between 80mm and 100mm of rain expected, while between 70mm and 90mm are predicted in the far north of the neighbouring Bas-Rhin, with up to 70mm expected further south – figures national forecaster Météo-France said approached records for daily rainfall figures in the region.

Orange alerts in the area remain in place on Saturday.

Image: Météo-France

Rain and occasional storms, some bringing hail, are expected to develop across large parts of the country throughout the weekend, with only the Mediterranean areas likely to remain dry on Saturday.

Showers and sunny spells will continue into Sunday and Monday, with occasional thunderstorms in the south-west. Temperatures throughout the weekend should rise to between 15C and 22C.

To make family getaways on the final long weekend of the month even more difficult, roads watchdog Bison Futé predicts ‘difficult’, or ‘very difficult’ travel conditions on key routes across the country.

Image: Bison Fute

On Friday, traffic is expected to be heavy on routes heading away from major cities towards popular holiday destinations until well into the evening – especially on Paris’s Périphérique and the A86 and A6B, the A7, along the Mediterranean Arc and on the Atlantic seaboard (A11, N165 and A63).

The A13 is likely to remain closed to traffic between Paris and Vaucresson across the holiday weekend, so drivers from the Paris region wishing to reach Normandy are advised to take the A14, A15 or N12

On Saturday, May 18th, conditions on the roads will be difficult nationwide, particularly on roads serving the Mediterranean arc (A7 and A9) and the Atlantic coast (A63 and N165). In the Île-de-France region, traffic will be heavy from early morning onwards on the A6 and A10. From mid-morning onwards, traffic is expected to intensify significantly.

Image: Bison Fute

Routes converging on the A10 and A6 could also see traffic problems on Saturday, Bison Futé warned.

No major forecastable traffic problems are expected on Sunday – but, on Monday, May 20th, short breakers will be returning home, leading to heavy traffic across the country, notably on A7 and A9, in the Mediterranean region, and routes serving the west of the country.

Traffic will be heavy on the A10 and A6 in the Île-de-France region from late morning into the evening. The A13, which should be open, could also experience traffic problems from mid-afternoon onwards, and could continue to do so well into the evening.

Across the country banks and public administration offices will close. Some independent shops may close, while larger stores and chains are more likely to be open, but probably with altered opening hours.

Most bars, restaurants and cafés will remain open while public transport will run as normal.

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